A student placement gave Pascal Flynn the chance to prove himself and launch his career.
For many students, breaking into the renewable energy sector can feel like the hardest part of launching a career. Pascal Flynn didn’t wait for an opportunity to appear—he went looking for one. While studying electrical engineering at the University of Ottawa, he reached out to Geniglace Inc., an Ottawa-area company specializing in waterway barriers for hydroelectric facilities, despite the fact that they weren’t hiring.
That initiative became the start of something bigger. With support from EHRC’s Empowering Futures program, Geniglace was able to bring Pascal on board to explore renewable energy opportunities for the company. What began as a student placement eventually led to a full-time role, giving Pascal a chance to turn his passion for renewable energy into a career.
Helping people has always been a driving force for Pascal. Inspired by a physician mother and a physics teacher father who spent weekends tinkering with electrical systems, he developed an early interest in science, technology and problem-solving. That interest led him to electrical engineering and a focus on renewable energy.
“Renewable energy is becoming more and more important,” Pascal says. “For me to be able to work in that field is a dream.”
Pascal’s path to Geniglace didn’t come through a job posting. The company wasn’t actively looking for an intern, but Pascal made his case anyway. One employee was familiar with the employer funding programs available through EHRC and, together, they found a way to make the opportunity work through the Empowering Futures program.
“If you have a door slightly open,” Pascal says, “the program can help you push it further—or at least get a foot in the door.”
Once he arrived, Pascal jumped straight into meaningful work. He was tasked with exploring whether Geniglace’s waterway barriers could serve as a platform for floating solar farms, a renewable energy technology known as floating photovoltaics. He pitched the concept to company leadership, received the green light and began turning an idea into a pilot project.
The experience taught him that technical expertise alone isn’t always enough.
“To be able to convert your knowledge into a simple, presentable pitch is really important,” he says. “Engineers want to know how. Decision-makers want to know why.”
Pascal also gained experience in the field, travelling to a New York Power Authority site to document an existing waterway barrier installation. The work resulted in a technical report and an unexpected lesson about the realities of engineering work.
“In engineering school, they don’t warn you about how much technical writing you have to do,” he says. “My colleagues gave me real chances to write it myself and improve. That was a highlight.”
What surprised Pascal most wasn’t the technical complexity of the work, but the culture of the team. For a small company that hadn’t planned on hiring an intern, Geniglace fully embraced the experience. Over time, the initial nervousness Pascal felt, the pressure to be perfect, gave way to the confidence that comes from knowing your team wants you to grow.
“They weren’t looking for me to be perfect. They were looking for me to learn and to translate my thinking into what they needed.” He further adds, “My colleagues were committed to my professional development as much as I was. That’s a golden ticket.”
Pascal is equally direct about the role EHRC’s Empowering Futures program played in making it possible. The program helped reduce the uncertainty that often keeps smaller companies from hiring students or recent graduates.
“It was an incentive—it helped them take a chance on me,” he says. “The program helps in that stage where a company is asking: is this person going to be someone I want to work with long-term? It motivates companies to take a shot, and that’s as beneficial for the company as it is for the student.”
Beyond the financial support, Pascal also appreciated the regular check-ins from the EHRC team throughout his placement. Being asked to reflect on what he was learning turned out to be its own kind of development.
“It was a good way for me to understand the skills I was building and to articulate them.”
Shortly after his placement wrapped up, Pascal started a full-time role at Geniglace.
“In a time where finding internships isn’t easy,” he says, “when you’re given an opportunity, you want to see it through. The internship gave Geniglace time to see if they liked me, and clearly they did.”
Interested in hiring a student or new graduate from the electricity sector?
EHRC’s employer funding programs, including Empowering Futures, help cover the cost of bringing emerging talent on board. Learn more at ehrc.ca/funding.