Are you a Canadian post-secondary student looking to gain hands-on experience in the environmental sector?
ECO Canada’s Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) is your gateway to meaningful work opportunities that align with your studies and help you build a strong foundation for your future career. We are excited to share that there are still available placements in the SWPP program!
This program, funded by the Government of Canada’s Employment and Social Development Program, connects students with employers across the country and provides wage subsidies of up to $7,000 for placements lasting 6 to 16 weeks. Whether you’re in STEAM or business fields, this is your chance to make an impact while still in school.
Hear from participants whose careers have directly benefited from the Student Work Placement Program:
MakeSens: Driving Innovation in Battery Technology
Meet Liam and Eric, two students who joined MakeSens, a company focused on developing next-generation batteries using silicon materials.
“I’m Liam. I’m an intern here. Mainly I work in the lab performing experiments as directed by the senior researchers. The overall mission of our company is to come up with the next gen of batteries using silicon materials. So my role basically is going through variations of that material and working towards finding the material that performs the best.” – Liam
Liam shared how the experience helped him grow professionally:
“I’m very early on in my career and this is like the longest job I’ve had and I’ve grown a lot. I’ve taken on a lot more responsibilities. Like we oversee all the experiments. We make sure that everything that’s scheduled gets done. We kind of govern ourselves day-to-day and that’s really helped me grow.”
Eric, who started as an intern and later transitioned to full-time, highlighted the program’s simplicity and impact:
“I recommend ECO Canada for sure. All the application that I submit was very straightforward. I only need to apply a couple online forms and that’s pretty much it to get the funding. Through ECO Canada, I found my job as an intern. They hired me full-time after graduation. So again, I really appreciate ECO Canada.” – Eric
Click here to watch their Success Story
Aris Landscape Design: Bringing Sustainability to Life
Laura Bartzoff joined Aris Landscape Design and quickly discovered how her creativity could make a real-world impact:
“My role at Aris Landscape Design is to work on the designs that we do on an AutoCAD program. I also help with planting in the summer and consultations. I help with the creativity and I help keep our team a team.” – Laura
Her work goes beyond aesthetics—it’s about sustainability:
“The community and the environment around us has been impacted by this program because I’m able to bring new fresh styles to the landscape that do contribute to sustainability. They’re unique, functional, and they give back to the world around us—like pollinators, helping clean the soil and water, and just keeping things looking beautiful.”
Click here to watch Laura’s Success Story
WalterFedy: Building Careers and Connections
For Kayden and Kwun, ECO Canada’s program was a turning point:
“I actually first found out about ECO Canada through WalterFedy. They had a couple of qualified candidates they were looking at, but didn’t have the resources to hire everyone. Through ECO Canada, they were able to give me an internship. Once they saw my work, they brought me on full-time after my initial contract.” – Kayden
Kwun emphasized the networking and learning opportunities:
“ECO Canada has a great networking program and they have an Environmental Professional in Training designation that I’m going to be a part of. It gives me more opportunities to continue learning, take courses, attend webinars, and expand my career and knowledge within the environment.” – Kwun
Kayden summed up their experience in the program perfectly:
“ECO Canada was really a key moment in my career because I would not be here today at this job if not for that.”
Click here to watch their Success Story
Ready to Start Your Journey?
If you’re a Canadian post-secondary student looking to gain practical experience, grow your skills, and make a difference in the environmental sector, apply for ECO Canada’s Student Work Placement Program today. Your future career starts here!
