Discovering Potential

Investing in tomorrow’s leaders

Through EHRC’s Discovering Potential Program, your organization has the unique opportunity to help train and educate future employees.

The program supports employers who provide youth with green work experience through internships and on-the-job training. Positions in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and/or relating to electricity, renewable energy, environment, and natural resources can qualify.

Subsidies

Discovering Potential can subsidize an internship, a training opportunity, or a combination of both, up to a maximum of $24,000 per participant. Additional funding may also be available for opportunities that support youth furthest from employment.

Work experience should meet one of the following criteria:

The position requires environmental skills, knowledge, experience, or competencies to produce environmentally beneficial products or services. Examples of positions that fall into this category would be land-use planning or air quality engineers.

OR

The position results in an environmental benefit. Examples of positions that fall into this category would be trades or manufacturing jobs related to renewable energy.

Discovering Potential can subsidize an internship, a training opportunity, or a combination of both, up to a maximum of $24,000 per participant. Additional funding may also be available for opportunities that support youth furthest from employment (please see definition below).

Internship Opportunities

Internship provides youth participants with meaningful employment placements that help them attain career skills and experience.

EHRC provides wage subsidies to organizations providing these internships for participants between the ages of 15 and 30 (inclusive). Organizations may be eligible for a subsidy of up to 75% of a participant’s wages, to a maximum of $24,000 per participant. Participants furthest from employment may be eligible for additional funding, pending evaluation.

Please contact [email protected] for additional information.

Training Opportunities

Training opportunities support the success of young workers and youth facing barriers to employment. The training opportunities funded by this program can be versatile in application and impact. For example, Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia leveraged the subsidy to deliver innovative and career-focused training for the green economy.

Other examples of eligible training opportunities include, but are not limited, to:

• A career centre or training hall offering a series of workplace skills sessions in coordination with local employers, working directly with youth participants to improve their employability.
• A training or educational organization runs a pre-entry or post-graduation skills program to empower youth facing barriers to explore careers in electricity.

Training providers may be eligible for a subsidy of up to 100% of the training costs to a maximum of $24,000 per participant.

Additional funding may be available if the training supports youth furthest from employment, pending evaluation.

Please contact [email protected] for additional information.

All placements must meet the following criteria:

• The placement must be completed by February 29, 2024 (yes, it is a leap year).
• The placement must not be funded by any other federally funded program.
• For internship placements, the organization must not recruit or retain friends or family members without a nepotism policy in place.
• The employer or training organization must refer to the youth eligibility criteria when selecting a candidate for their placement opportunity. They should inform all potential candidates what their involvement with Discovering Potential will entail.

• The employer or training organization must ensure that their selected participant completes all program-related paperwork in a timely manner, including:
  • Employer/Training Organization Eligibility Form and Participant Eligibility Form
  • A signed contract
  • A Learning Plan
  • Employer/Training Organization Evaluation Questionnaire
  • Participant Reflection Questionnaire

• The employer or training organization must provide information about the placement to EHRC upon request, including but not limited to proof of employment or training, start date and end dates, full wage or training fee costs and benefit breakdowns, and general progress updates throughout the duration of the placement.
• If there are any changes to a participant’s ability to complete the internship or training opportunity, the employer or training organization must notify EHRC immediately.
• Employers pay at least twenty-five percent (25%) of each participant’s salary.

Placement Organization

The placement organization (either an employer or training provider) must operate in one or more of the following areas:

• Generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity
• Clean Energy Technology
• Carbon and Climate Change Mitigation
• Sector support including renewables, in any of the following areas: R&D, business development, and energy efficiency.
• Renewables/Green Energy
• Energy Efficiency, fuel switching, and green building
• Transmission, smart grid, energy storage
• Engaged in the manufacturing of equipment and the provision of services necessary for electricity.

• Sustainable development of non-renewable resources
• Resource Conservation
• Environmental Protection
• Sustainable Planning/Urban Design
• Alternative/Sustainable Transportation
• Green Manufacturing, Green Services or Green Retail
• Other sectors in the environmental economy

The placement organization must also be classified as one of the following:

• Academic organization
• Indigenous organization
• Not-for-profit organization
• Industry
• Municipal, provincial, or territorial government
• Utility

Youth Participant

To be eligible, the youth participant must:

• Be between 15 and 30 years (inclusive) of age
• Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person who has been granted refugee status in Canada
• Legally entitled to work according to the relevant provincial legislation and regulations
• Not receiving Employment Insurance (EI) benefits
• Not currently enrolled in full-time post-secondary studies
• Currently un- or under-employed