Unlocking Canada's Green Potential
Drawing, Developing, and Diversifying Talent to Accelerate Clean Economic Growth
This project is a collaborative, inclusive, outcome-based approach to building environmental talent. It will help alleviate workforce gaps and position Canada as a global leader in environmental innovation, commercialization, and job creation.
Introduction
The Government of Canada’s Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program helps key sectors of the economy implement solutions to address their current and emerging workforce needs. Through program funding and support, ECO Canada will support clean economy employers, job seekers, and labour market players in various ways, such as:
- Providing key insights and resources for clean economy employers to attract, retain and develop a competent, innovative, productive, and diverse environmental workforce.
- Supporting existing workers and new entrants, including career transitioners and underutilized talent pools, develop in-demand skills and thrive in an environmental career.
- Aiding industry and professional associations, governments, academia, diversity groups and other intermediaries in aligning their programs and policies based on talent needs.
Project Objectives
The project will bring industry and other stakeholders together to enhance the number, quality and diversity of individuals working in environmental roles.
Specifically, the project will:
- Facilitate upward workforce mobility by creating a talent development program that focuses on equitable access to career tools, resources, training, certification, networking, and job opportunities;
- Attract and retain a competent, adequate, and diverse talent pool by helping employers improve their talent management capacity, foster inclusive and equitable HR practices, and collaborate with academia;
- Develop and disseminate labour market research and national occupational standards that quantify and qualify labour and skill needs, gaps, and opportunities; and
- Support the Battery Supply Chain in Canada through the above initiatives (e.g., career awareness, job creation and HR tools, and worker upskilling to meet sectoral needs).
This project commenced on November 7, 2022, and will conclude on March 31, 2024 (17 months).
Career Development
Specifically, the project will include:
- Environmental Jobs Growth Program:
- This wage subsidy program includes participant guides, assessments, DEI incentives/top-ups, wrap-around supports, and a portal. The expected outcome for this deliverable is 550 placements across 350 unique employers, with at least 420 (or 76%) candidates from equity-deserving groups.
- Career Profiles:
- 40 updated career profiles and 10-15 new career profiles: Each environmental career profile gives you a snapshot of the profession, including job duties, work environment, educational requirements, and related careers.
- Day In The Life Videos:
- Day in the Life of Environmental Professionals 15 total videos. These videos will profile a typical day in the life of an environmental worker, showcasing activities, career paths, challenges and opportunities they face.
- 35 Competency Profiles and standards developed/updated:
- A competency dictionary is a set of statements describing related competencies critical for effective performance within a specific context (for NOS, either technical or transferable competencies). The competency dictionary is used independently to build occupational profiles of grouped competencies in a particular practice area.
- Canada’s Electric Vehicle Battery Supply Chain Sector Profile
- Canada’s electric vehicle (EV) sector is expanding rapidly, positioning itself as a key player on the international scene. This report focuses on workforce development, identifies skill gaps, and delves into the sector’s challenges and opportunities. Download the report now for further insights.
Research Reports
This project will help cover a wide variety of research reports across different fields
Here are a few you can find:
- Four quarterly job posting analysis (JPA) dashboards: These are quarterly interactive dashboards of environmental job ad counts by occupation, region and environmental sub-sectors.
- Labour Market Outlook reports: These reports will present the share of workers in the environmental sector using a dataset for the years 2020 to 2022, as well as provide a demand forecast for the environmental jobs in occupations and industries for the period 2023-2032.
- A Demographic and HR Survey report: A bilingual (English/French) national survey targeting 500 participating employers and 1,000 workers to gather data on the demographics of the environmental workforce as well as their compensation.
- A Career Awareness and Perception Survey report: This bilingual (English/French) national survey interviewed 2500 students and job seekers to identify attraction and engagement strategies for each talent segment in the environmental workforce.
- A Sector Profile report: As the transition to a cleaner and prosperous economy is encouraged by Net-Zero Canada’s Climate Plan, this report explores the Battery Supply Chain for Electrical Vehicle in Canada, looking at market and recruitment insights for the sector, as well as emerging opportunities.
- Workforce Diversity Series: The development of an equitable and inclusive environmental workforce in Canada requires an improved understanding of the current levels of diversity across the sector. To this end, these factsheets, based on a national survey of employers, look to provide a profile of diversity across the environmental workforce in Canada.
- Explore our Empowering The Environmental Workforce in Canada Report to gain valuable insights into current trends, emerging opportunities, and potential challenges within the environmental sector.
Events
Educational Opportunities
- Enhanced processes and offerings for environmental programs accreditation and professional certification: This features a series of enhancements in the certification and accreditation programs.
- Conduct 1:1 meetings with the accreditation partners to gather feedback on improving the program.
- Recruit academic site reviewers from our accredited partners.
- Add 10 new programs by Dec. 2023 and 19 new programs by the end of the current fiscal year.
- Greening Your Business toolkit will be developed and distributed, as well as a Self-Assessment Worksheet, to help organizations identify what they have or do not have to implement a Green Business Plan.
Training Opportunities
A variety of training opportunities are being planned, which include:
- IDEA Workshop: An Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) workshop and toolkit to help employers attract, retain, develop and diversify talent. The expected result is that the workshop and toolkit will be delivered to 500 employers, including those participating in the wage subsidy program.
- 6 training workshops: These are interactive learning activities delivered virtually or in person that explore a range of subjects with on-demand learning.
- 8 micro-credential programs: These micro-credentials are proof of the learning outcomes that a learner has acquired following a short learning experience. These learning outcomes have been assessed against transparent standards. They are often created with input from business sectors, so the skills taught match employer needs.
- An Indigenous Entrepreneurship Training Pilot: This program will target at least 25 participants. Training will provide participants with the hands-on and theoretical skills required to actively participate in the business environment by introducing the principles and practices of entrepreneurship and small businesses to Indigenous learners.
- Workforce Strategy Session Report: This report is based on a workshop involving 27 small, medium and large enterprise leaders to discuss diversity, education, collaboration, and barrier reduction.
Thank you to our partner for making these programs possible:
