The Empowering Futures Program is Canada’s Student Work Placement Program for the electricity industry. Aimed at preparing students for the future of work, the program will create new work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities in electricity by providing subsidies of up to $7,000 per student position to the organizations who create these new opportunities.
Eligibility Requirements
Eligibility
Eligibility is dependent on the participant, employer (organization-wide) and nature of employment.
Employer Organization Eligibility
Employers Organizations are eligible if they meet the following criteria:
- Firms whose primary activity is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.
- Sector support including renewables, in any of the following areas: R & D, business development, energy efficiency.
- Firms engaged in manufacturing of equipment and the provision of services necessary to generation, transmission or distribution.
- Firms that are a Small or Medium Enterprise (SME) – a business establishment with 499 employees or less at the time that it receives funding.
Participant Eligibility
Participants are eligible if they meet the following criteria:
- They are registered as a first-year apprentices in one of the construction/manufacturing Red Seal trades identified below.
- They are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person with refugee protection in Canada.
- They are legally able to work in Canada according to the laws and regulations of the province or territory where they live.
Employment Eligibility
Employment is eligible if it meets the following criteria:
- The employer must not enter into another Sub-Agreement with any other organization receiving funding under the Apprenticeship Program within the same fiscal year, for the purpose of receiving a financial incentive
- The company must provide a full or part-time work opportunity for a first-year apprentice in one of the aforementioned Red Seal trades.
- Each SME hiring an apprentice, can receive funding for a maximum of two apprentices per fiscal year.
- The company must not recruit and retain friends or family members as participants to the co-op wage subsidy program, or have a sufficient nepotism policy in place.
- Placements must not be longer than one year.
Eligible construction/manufacturing Red Seal trades are:
Construction:
- Boilermaker
- Sheet Metal Worker *ECO
- Welder
- Steamfitter/Pipefitter
- Refrigeration and AC Mechanic *ECO
- Construction Electrician
- Plumber *ECO
- Landscape Horticulturist *ECO
- Roofer *ECO
- Lather (Interior Systems Mechanic) *ECO
- Glazier *ECO
- Sprinkler Fitter
- Insulator (Heat and Frost) *ECO
- Gasfitter A
- Gasfitter B
- HEO Dozer
- HEO Excavator
- HEO TLB
- Mobile Crane Operator
- Construction Craft Worker
- Concrete Finisher *ECO
- Tower Crane Operator
- Powerline Technician
- Ironworker Generalist
- Ironworker Reinforcing
- Ironworker S/O
Manufacturing:
- Boilermaker
- Sheet Metal Worker *ECO
- Welder
- Steamfitter/Pipefitter
- Refrigeration and AC Mechanic *ECO
- Instrumentation and Control Technician
- Machinist
- Tool and Die Maker
- Metal Fabricator (Fitter)
- Industrial Electrician
- Industrial Mechanic (Millwright)
Additional Considerations:
- The company must provide proof of employment, start date, contract with participant, full wage, and benefits of the participant to EHRC upon request.
- The company must provide information about the placement to Electricity Human Resources Canada as required.
- The company must develop a Formal Learning Plan with the participant, before the start of the placement.
- The company will receive the financial incentive in the beginning and end of the placement.
Financial Incentives
Financial Incentives for new first-year apprentices in one of the construction/manufacturing Red Seal Trades
- The standard financial incentive is $5,000.00 per placement
- The increased financial incentive is $10,000.00 per placement
- Those eligible for increased subsidies are:
- Women
- Indigenous People
- Newcomers to Canada
- Persons with Disabilities
- Visible Minorities
- LGBTQ2+
Contact Us
If you have additional questions about Empowering Futures, you can contact us at the following Yoana Turnin, Project Manager t 613.235.5540 ext. 243 turnin@electricityhr.ca
Resources:
CEWIL & EHRC: Empowering Futures
Watch a webinar from EHRC’s Director of Programs that explains in depth how Empowering Futures works.
How Empowering Futures Supports Organizations and Students
Professional Skills Training Program
While technical and specialized knowledge is foundational for career success in electricity, organizations are also looking for candidates who demonstrate a high level of proficiency in professional skills. Professional skills include active listening, social perceptiveness, and collaboration. Take time to take stock of your professional skills while job searching with EHRC’s resources for developing and applying professional skills.
Learn More
Empowering the Next-Generation Workforce
Work-integrated learning (WIL) is an essential step to transition from school to work, and the best way to learn how to put education into practice. To show how WIL contributes to the talent pipeline and career growth in Canada’s electricity sector, we’ve published Empowering the Next-Generation Workforce, a thought paper informed by experts with practical recommendations on how we can increase WIL uptake and best prepare the next generation of electricity workers.
Learn More
Skill savvy
From the boardroom to the front line, careers in electricity take more than technical skills—they require professional skills: the ability to communicate, work together, and organize work effectively. To explain these skills and the value they have to any worker or organization, we’ve published Skill savvy. Based on research and international best practices, this paper identifies 10 professional skills that all electricity sector workers need, where they fall short, and how they can be fostered by educators and organizations through work-integrated learning.
Learn More
Empowering Futures Testimonials
We’ve collected stories from across Canada, from both organizations and students, about how Empowering Futures is building the workforce of tomorrow.
Organization Testimonials
Eric, CIO at Spark Power
Jon, Field Manager at Hydro One
Nirav, HR Director at Ontario Power Generation
Nicole, Senior Manager, HR Corporate Services at Nalcor Energy
Student Testimonials
Zoee, Electrical Engineering Student
Tristan, Nursing Student
Natalie, Chemical Engineering Student
Alyssa, Business Finance Student
Abine, Environmental Sciences Student
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are an organization or student wondering if Empowering Futures is right for you, consider the following information:
Student: Why Empowering Futures?
- Gain experience before entering the workplace
- Grow your confidence in your abilities
- Build a professional network
Student: What is a work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunity?
A work-integrated learning opportunity is any placement including co-ops, internships, apprenticeship, applied projects, capstone projects or case competitions. These placements are provided to students looking to gain field experience. Empowering Futures can fund co-ops, internships and work placements with ties to the students’ studies.
What is the Apprenticeship Service?
The Government of Canada’s’ has established the Apprenticeship Service to encourage and support employers (small and medium-sized enterprises) to hire first-year apprentices, particularly from construction and manufacturing Red Seal trades across Canada. This will help first-year apprentices connect with employment opportunities at SMEs, giving them the hands-on experience and supports that are required to succeed in the skilled trades.
Student: What is the Student Work Placement Program?
The Government of Canada’s Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) brings industry stakeholders together to create new work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities for students who will be better positioned to secure employment in their field of study.
Organizations: Why Empowering Futures?
- Offset risk by subsidizing costs.
- Try out a new prospective worker before hiring.
- Build your talent pipeline and the future workforce.
Organizations: What are the project objectives?
Empowering Futures will create new WIL opportunities in electricity by providing wage subsidies or financial incentives up to $10,000 to employers who create new WIL opportunities. The goal of the program is to help young Canadians make the transition from school to work through collaborative partnerships between the Canadian employers and post-secondary institutions. EHRC is proposing to strengthen research, development and innovation partnerships between these stakeholders to ensure that the curricula being delivered aligns with the needs of the sector.
Organizations: How will this shape the future?
A steering committee of committed stakeholders from industry and academia is advising, guiding, participating in, and assessing project activities. They are validating findings, assisting with stakeholder engagement, and determining how the findings can be best used to increase the participation of employers and educational institutions across Canada. Information is collected and shared with industry partners and post-secondary institutions to ensure program sustainability.
Organizations: What is the value for employers?
Empowering Futures makes getting involved in preparing the sector’s future workforce more rewarding. The program’s co-op wage subsidies and financial incentives for first-year apprentices help your organization minimize the financial barrier of hiring students or apprentices and it covers the cost of a co-op student’s salary for science, technology, engineering, mathematics, arts or business placements, or a first-year apprentice in one of the 39 construction or manufacturing Red Seal trades.
Participating Organizations
Participating Educators
Funding Acknowledgement
For other eligible construction/manufacturing Red Seal trades, please visit ECO Canada for more information (link to ECO’s Apprenticeship service program)
