Imagine you are standing in an international airport watching a Boeing 747 take off and thinking to yourself, "The pilots and flight attendants on board that plane were in my classroom last week.” You are an environmental training specialist that has been hired by one of the nation’s largest airlines to conduct a series of training courses.
Your courses have been designed to instruct personnel from a number of the airline’s departments about the basic principles of environmental awareness and what each employee can do to minimize the impact commercial air traffic has on the environment. As an environmental training specialist, you have years of experience developing training courses on a number of topics using a number of formats. In this case, you needed to develop a short training module that could be delivered on-site to vastly different audiences and accommodate many learning styles.
When the airline first approached you several months ago, you began researching the aviation industry and consulting experts to determine which environmental issues were most relevant to the airline’s personnel. This helped you determine objectives and content for the training sessions. Once these were established, you could begin building the modules. For each module, you had to decide on the length, class size, audiovisual requirements, and what sorts of resources to use, for example, handouts and textbooks.
This was a huge job because many departments required different course content. The module for pilots, for example, focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and noise pollution. After presenting the basics of the greenhouse effect, you brought in an aviation expert to demonstrate more effective takeoff, landing, and taxiing techniques that minimize fuel consumption and lower emissions. On the other hand, the modules for office personnel and flight attendants focused on reducing waste and the benefits of recycling. Baggage handlers were instructed in proper techniques for dealing with spills and the benefits of minimizing the amount of time carts and vehicles are left to idle. Once they are finished with your course, the airline’s employees will be much more environmentally aware and motivated to take action and implement your recommendations.
Duties vary significantly from job to job, but the following list includes typical job duties one might encounter as an environmental training specialist:
If you are a high school student considering a career as an environmental geophysicist, you should have a keen interest in:
If you are a post-secondary student considering a career as an environmental geophysicist, the following programs are most applicable.
In most cases, the minimum education requirement to work as an environmental geophysicist is a graduate degree. Pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree in fields related to environmental geophysics can enhance your expertise, career prospects, and ability to contribute to the field. These advanced degrees offer specialized knowledge and skills highly valued in both the professional and academic worlds.
In many provinces, geophysicists must obtain registration and licensure with their provincial association as a Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo.). The certification process for geophysicists is similar to that of engineering professions and is typically overseen by the same regulatory body.
Our Environmental Professional (EP) designation can also help you progress in your chosen environmental career.
Technical Skills
Personal and Professional Skills
Environmental employers look for professionals who can combine technical knowledge with soft skills. Watch our free webinar “Essential Not Optional: Skills Needed to Succeed in Canada’s Environmental Industry” or take our Essential Skills courses.
As key executive leaders who shape their company’s sustainability policy, CSOs work in many different types of organizations. Common employers of CSOs include:
Search for jobs on the ECO Canada Job Board.
If you are a post-secondary student seeking a CSO role in the future, consider pursuing a university degree related to:
In addition to the educational fields mentioned above, you will also need extensive management experience to become a CSO, with well-developed human resources management and leadership skills. Consider educational seminars or post-graduate studies that will hone your analytical thinking, such as:
Our Environmental Professional (EP) designation can also help you progress in your chosen environmental career.
Technical Skills
Personal and Professional Skills
Environmental employers seek professionals who combine technical knowledge with personal and professional skills. Watch our free webinar “Essential Not Optional: Skills Needed to Succeed in Canada’s Environmental Industry” or take our Essential Skills courses.
I started my environmental training a number of years ago when I worked in visitor services at a zoo. Much of my practical learning has been on the job through several positions including Provincial Park interpreter, owner/operator of an environmental education company and tourism trainer for a provincial tourism council. The experience and knowledge gained along the way have led me to my present position. This is a great job for people who enjoy seeing the country and like human interaction.
As general manager of an ecotourism company I meet lots of different people and visit many rural areas of Canada. You need to be tenacious in this business while building lasting relationships with individuals, companies, organizations and government departments. Throughout my career, I have seen the importance of communication skills and as a result, I’ve focused on enhancing my ability to get the message across. The benefits of this focus show up when I present my ideas to groups or clients.
My twelve years of experience provide me with a broad range of employment potential. If you are interested in this career try looking for positions with consulting firms, training companies and community economic development agencies all across Canada. The Canadian perspective at the community level is changing from tourism to ecotourism. I keep current with the changes through my memberships in associations and international societies. I also rely on the Internet for on-line newsletters and networking with colleagues.
Face-to-face contact is the most valuable way to relate to people and I spend as much time as possible each day conversing with clients and staff in my office. The future of environmental training is bright with new possibilities in project development and increased community-based training initiatives. My personal career advancement is related to my ability to bring in contract work and set up training programs. As a general manager, this is my role, however, in the near future, I plan to get more directly involved with the delivery of tourism products.
This will give me the chance to do more tourism such as canoeing, kayaking and backcountry camping while I am teaching others. I have proven the adage "you have to invent your own future”. By being flexible and adaptable, while willing to take financial and personal risks, I have consistently gotten better at what I do. As I demonstrated more expertise to my customers I received more business in return. Take the motto " have a contract, will travel” and get started in environmental training. In my company, the majority of our work is done off-site in small communities anywhere in Canada and other countries including mainland Chile and Easter Island.
This means significant amounts of travel, usually concentrated in the spring and fall. Client and customer relations, researching new business opportunities, writing proposals and concept papers, managing ongoing projects and planning company growth are my most common daily activities. Communication skills are very important and our success depends upon building solid, trusting relationships with clients. Primarily we interact with economic development officers, government development agents, community futures corporations, funding agencies, town councils and First Nation’s people.
My greatest accomplishment is being part of a unique team of individuals who have taken this company from its first contract to its present status as an international training organization. I have been with this company from the beginning and I know our success is due to the high level of personal care we show our clients. We genuinely like to help people learn about the environment and through that learning improve their lives. We are also very proud that ecotourism encourages people to adopt the best practices for the environment.
Marine geologists are classified into the following occupational grouping:
NOC Code: 21102 – Geoscientists and oceanographers
The National Occupational Classification (NOC) provides a standardized language for describing the work performed by Canadians in the labour market. It gives statisticians, labour market analysts, career counsellors, employers, and individual job seekers a consistent way to collect data and describe and understand the nature of work within different occupations.
See ECO’s Blue National Occupational Standard for a career competency profile for a marine geologist that outlines the specific skills, knowledge, and behaviours required for individuals to perform effectively in this particular role. This profile is a benchmark for training and development, ensuring consistency and quality across professions within the blue economy.
Dans un esprit de respect, de réciprocité et de vérité, nous honorons et reconnaissons Moh’kinsstis, le territoire traditionnel du Traité 7 et les pratiques orales de la confédération des Pieds-Noirs : Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, ainsi que les nations Îyâxe Nakoda et Tsuut’ina. Nous reconnaissons que ce territoire abrite la Nation métisse de l’Alberta, la région 3 au sein de la patrie historique des Métis du Nord-Ouest. Enfin, nous reconnaissons toutes les nations qui vivent, travaillent et se divertissent sur ce territoire, et qui l’honorent et le célèbrent.
In the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and truth, we acknowledge that we live, work, and gather on the traditional territories of the peoples of Treaty 7, including the Blackfoot Confederacy—comprising the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations—as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina Nations.
This land, known as Moh’kinsstis in the Blackfoot language and encompassing what is now Districts 5 and 6, is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3, within the historical Northwest Métis homeland.
We recognize and honour the deep connection these Nations have to the land, and we are grateful for the opportunity to share in its stewardship.
As we continue our work, we commit to learning from Indigenous knowledge systems, uplifting Indigenous voices, and fostering relationships rooted in equity, understanding, and reconciliation.
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