Frequently asked questions

START Canada is a career-readiness platform built by StartNew Technologies in North Vancouver, BC. Students, newcomers and career changers use it to measure their job skills, prove them to employers with a START verified certificate, and close gaps through bootcamps and events. Colleges run it under their own branding to see how ready their learners are.

Three groups. Learners use it to find out where they stand and prove it. Colleges and training institutions use it to measure readiness across a program. Employers receive verified profiles from candidates before the interview.

StartNew Technologies Corp., founded by Boris Poludo and based at 301-1789 Lonsdale Ave, North Vancouver. START grew out of years of career training at the Poludo Institute of Technology and Media.

Course sites teach a subject and give you a completion certificate. Single-skill tests tell an employer how you did on one test they chose. START measures you against a specific job role across technical, business and soft skills, keeps your results, resume and credentials in one profile, and has a START reviewer check that evidence before your certificate is marked START verified. You decide who sees it.

You can start for free. Create an account and take assessments at no cost to see where you stand. When you want more, paid plans give you fuller access to the platform, and AI-powered tools such as resume tailoring, interview practice and career coaching run on credits. Colleges and employers get enterprise plans quoted per program, so contact us. Self Check background checks are paid directly to Canpro Technologies.

Anyone 13 or older. If your college uses START, sign up on your college's portal with your school email so your results go to the right place.

Go to startnew.ai and sign up with your email and a password, or continue with Google or Apple. We send a code to confirm your email.

No. Anyone 13 or older can create an account and take assessments. Self Check background checks are the exception: they are only available to people in Canada.

Yes. START works in any modern browser on your phone, tablet or computer. Our iOS and Android apps are in testing now and will be in the App Store and Google Play soon.

Not yet. The platform is in English today.

Yes, to take assessments and save your results.

Technology (Python, SQL, Linux, AI and machine learning), business (accounting, marketing, digital marketing, SEO, human resources, management, business strategy and more) and 17 soft skills, from communication to teamwork. Role assessments test you against a specific job, such as junior data analyst. In all, START draws on more than 10,000 assessment questions.

They are difficulty levels. Practise at one level, or take a Level Assessment that mixes five questions from each level to place you. Score 80% or more overall and on the expert questions to place at Expert. Score 50% or more to place at Intermediate.

• Practice: 10 questions, 10 to 15 minutes depending on level.
• Level Assessment: 15 questions, 20 minutes.
• Comprehensive assessment: 24 questions, 30 to 40 minutes.

Yes, with no waiting period. Retakes avoid questions you've already seen where possible, so a second attempt tests what you've learned rather than what you remember.

It shows how ready you are for a specific job role. START looks at the skills that role requires, takes your latest result in each, and weights it by how many of those skills you have covered. Once you finish the role's comprehensive assessment and every required skill, your score for that role is marked Verified.

As soon as you submit. You see your score, your strengths and your gaps, and your history and progress report track how you improve over time. AI-powered recommendations suggest what to work on next.

You. If you joined through a college, its career staff can see your scores and progress. Anyone else sees a result only if you send them a link, and employers see nothing unless you share it.

Yes. Create a result link that lasts 7 or 30 days, choose whether it shows your name and the skill breakdown, and revoke it any time.

One place for everything an employer wants to see: your resume, cover letter, education and industry credentials, certifications, reference letters, publications, your Employability Score results and a short self-introduction video. You choose which items employers can see, and share the profile with one private link.

A certificate with your name, the role you were assessed for, your Employability Score, a certificate number and the issue date. Once a START reviewer has checked your evidence, it carries the START VERIFIED stamp.

Upload your resume, verify a role through its role assessment, and complete at least five career-relevant assessments. Then press Request verification. A START reviewer checks your evidence and either verifies the certificate or sends it back with reasons you can fix.

That your profile evidence belongs to you and holds together: the name matches your account, the verified role comes from START's own assessments, the resume is yours, the uploads are real documents and not placeholders, and nothing in the profile contradicts the role.

No. It shows a reviewed record of your skills and readiness for a role. Keep your degree, diploma or professional licence in your profile next to it. If your job is regulated, you still need the licence from your provincial regulator.

A START reviewer looks at your request within 5 business days. You can follow its status in your profile, and if the reviewer needs something from you, the request comes back with the reason so you can fix it and resubmit.

Include the certificate in your profile link and send the link. The employer opens it in a browser, with no account needed, and sees the START verified badge, certificate number, role, issue date and score.

Earn a certificate for that role. Each certificate is tied to one role, so a new role means a new certificate and a new review.

Background checks you run on yourself through Canpro Technologies, so you know what an employer will see before they ask. They include criminal record checks, ID verification, employment, education and credential verification, credit summary, driver licence and driver abstract, social media screening and SIN validation.

You pay Canpro directly for the checks you choose, and Canpro shows the price before you pay. For typical costs of each check in Canada, see background checks in Canada: types and costs.

Canpro holds your report. START only sees whether a check is in progress or complete, not the results. You decide whether to share a report with an employer.

Many will, especially as a head start. Some employers need to run their own check, and roles working with children or vulnerable people need a vulnerable sector check from your local police. Ask the employer which check they accept.

No. Self Check is available to people living in Canada.

Workshops, webinars and bootcamps on technology, business, AI and job search, run through StartJobs.ca. They also appear in the Events area of the START platform.

Most are. If an event has a fee, it's shown before you register.

Open the event on StartJobs.ca, or from Events in START, and register with your name, email, country and city. Confirm through the email we send you. If the event is full, you go on the waitlist.

Most are online through Microsoft Teams, and you get the link after you register. Some are held in person in Vancouver.

You can register for an event as a guest, with no account. A StartJobs.ca account, which lets you manage and cancel your registrations, is separate from your START account for now.

No. StartJobs.ca is where START runs its career-readiness events and bootcamps. It doesn't list jobs or place candidates.

Yes. Your learners get a portal at your own web address with your logo, colours and support email. They sign up with your school email domain, which links them to your institution automatically.

Yes. START builds custom question banks with you for your programs, and every new bank is reviewed before learners see it.

An admin portal shows active learners, completions, average scores, completion rates, weakest skills, risk segments and trends over time, plus each learner's attempts and progress. Reports export to CSV and PDF. Learners choose which profile documents your staff can open.

Single sign-on with your identity provider (SAML or OIDC) is on our roadmap. Today learners sign in with their school email and a password, and you can turn Google and Apple sign-in on or off for your domain. Staff sign in with a password plus an authenticator app.

We start with a short requirements form covering your learners, data, AI and sign-in needs. Then START sets up your portal, branding, email domains and admin accounts, and manages the rollout with you.

In Amazon Web Services data centres in the United States (Oregon). If your institution has specific data location requirements, raise them in the requirements form and we'll talk through the options.

Per program, based on your learner group and setup. Contact us for a quote.

Open the profile link the candidate sends you. No account is needed. You see the START verified badge, certificate number, role, issue date and Employability Score, plus the resume and documents the candidate chose to share.

No. It gives you verified evidence before you decide who to interview. Keep your own interview and a short work sample for the task that matters most. For more, see how employers verify candidate skills.

Not today. Candidates share their profiles with you directly. If you hire entry-level talent, newcomers or career changers and want to work with us, talk to us.

Candidates run their own checks through Self Check and choose whether to share the reports. If your organization wants to order screening itself, Canpro Technologies offers employer accounts.

Your account, profile and assessment information is stored by Amazon Web Services in the United States (Oregon). Because it is held outside Canada, US authorities may be able to access it under US law. Details are in our privacy policy.

Only if you turn AI features on. If you do, the information needed for your recommendations is processed through Amazon Bedrock in the United States and isn't used to train the AI model. You can turn AI features off any time in your settings. Under-18s need a parent or guardian's permission for AI features.

No. We don't sell your personal information.

In the app, go to your profile settings and choose Delete Account. You can also email info@startnew.ca with the subject "Delete My Account". Deleting removes your profile, assessment history, scores and uploaded files. For StartJobs.ca, email the same address.

Yes, 13. Learners under the age of majority in their province need a parent or guardian's permission to use AI features.

Email support@startnew.ca and we'll reply within 1 to 2 business days. For general questions, write to info@startnew.ca or call +1 778 877 7765.