Calgary, Alta., June 5, 2023 –
In partnership with Natural Resources Canada’s Science and Technology Internship Program—Green jobs (STIP—Green Jobs), ECO Canada is providing wage funding for employers looking to onboard young professionals for full-time work placements and job training. STIP – Green Jobs provides funding to employers in the natural resources sector across Canada, including in remote and Northern communities, to offer youth with work experience and skills training opportunities that contribute to positive environmental outcomes. This program gives eligible employers 75% wage coverage up to $18,000 of a candidate’s salary for placement in a new full-time position, or 75% up to $30,000 when hiring a self-identified equity-deserving candidate.
With nearly 30 per cent of the current workforce expected to retire in the next decade, there is a growing need to attract new talent, including young professionals and equity-seeking groups. The demand for environmental skills and roles is continuing to increase, with replacement demand and new investments in clean technologies, sustainability, and climate change adoption, it is requiring Canadian organizations to shift priorities and find talent that can support these important trends. By 2029, the combination of new jobs and replacements may contribute to as many as 233,500 net openings. This program hopes to fill these jobs within the natural resources sectors to protect the environment and have a positive environmental outcome.
The Youth in Natural Resources Program provides training and funding for young professionals to help them transition into the workforce and gain experience in the natural resources sector. The program also helps them build a network of peers and mentors. For employers, it allows them the opportunity to onboard young professionals and create meaningful environmental jobs within the natural resources sectors (Energy, Forestry, Mining Minerals & Metals, Earth Sciences and Clean Tech) by removing limitations and challenges of hiring new professionals.
This program is open to participants who are ages 15-30, and available to businesses of all sizes. Funding will cover full-time placements for work terms up to 12 months.
ECO Canada’s commitment to the environmental workforce has created almost 17,000 job placements, and the federal subsidies released through program oversight amounted to over $176 million to date. Learn more and apply for the Youth in Natural Resources Program today.
“Our growing clean industries need talented and well-trained young people working in science and technology. Whether it is building electric vehicles, mapping clean energy sites, or managing our growing smart-grids, the interns and trainees we are supporting today will be the leaders of tomorrow,” said Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. “A net-zero future means many more sustainable jobs, and today’s investment is an important step towards creating them.”
About ECO Canada:
ECO Canada is the steward of the Canadian environmental industry. From job creation and wage funding to training and labour market research – we champion the end-to-end career of an environmental professional. We aim to promote and drive responsible, sustainable economic growth within the industry while ensuring that environmental care and best practice are priorities. For the last 30 years, we’ve worked alongside government, policymakers, academia, students, employers, professionals, industry, and international audiences to ensure we support Canada as a global leader in innovative workforce solutions and job creation. We remain the go-to source in the environmental labour market; our research provides unmatched statistics and analysis on the industry’s economic and labour trends that identify workforce gaps.
For more information, contact:
Aaron Wilson
awilson@eco.ca
VP, Marketing & Sales
ECO Canada
