Empowering Futures

Employer Organizations are eligible if they meet the following criteria:

• Canadian-owned company
• 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 the manufacturing of equipment or the provision of services necessary for generation, transmission or distribution.

The following employers are not eligible for funding:

• Members of the House of Commons and the Senate
• Organizations that engage in partisan political activities
• Financial sector employers with 500 or more employees
• Post-secondary educational institutions
• Federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments

Participants are eligible if they meet the following criteria:

• They are registered as a full-time or part-time student in a post secondary institution
• “Student” is defined as a person who is enrolled and has started in their academic program before commencing a Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) placement
• 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 is eligible if it meets the following criteria:

• The placement is completed by March 31, 2027.
• The wages/training costs for this position are not funded by another federally-funded program.
• The company must not recruit and retain friends or family members as participants, or must have a sufficient nepotism policy in place.
• Employers must pay at least 50% of each participant’s salary.
• Please note that as of April 1st, 2026, apprenticeships and short-term or seasonal roles are not eligible for this program. Retroactive applications are not accepted.

• As of April 1, 2026, only medium and large businesses (100+ Full-time Employees) will be required to demonstrate Net New opportunities. To show the impact of this funding program, EHRC is required to track the number of students an employer hired in the past, before they receive EHRC Empowering Futures funding.
• Approval will be granted for positions that are deemed greater in number than the fiscal year (April to March) before a given employer entered the program for the first time. This will be defined as the baseline number of students hired and only students hired in greater numbers will be eligible for funding.
• The same student will not be eligible for multiple rounds of funding for the same type of employment with the same employer (ex. Jane Doe was hired as a Marketing Coordinator at Employer X for Summer 2022 and Fall 2022. Employer X can only apply and be approved for funding for ONE of these semesters).
• Placements must not be longer than one year.

• The standard subsidy reimbursement is 50% of the student’s gross paystubs, up to a maximum of $5,000.00 per placement

• The company must provide proof of co-op placement 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 EHRC as required.
• The company must develop a Formal Learning Plan with the participant, before the start of the placement.
• The company must provide EHRC with monthly financial claims and progress reports for each student.

• Gain experience before entering the workplace
• Grow your confidence in your abilities
• Build a professional network

• Minimize the financial barrier to hiring students.
• Offset risk by subsidizing costs.
• Try out a new prospective worker before hiring.
• Build your talent pipeline and the future workforce.

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.

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.

Empowering Futures creates new WIL opportunities in electricity by providing wage subsidies of up to $7,000 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 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.

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.

Empowering Futures makes getting involved in preparing the sector’s future workforce more rewarding. The program’s wage subsidies help your organization minimize the financial barrier of hiring students and it covers the cost of a co-op student’s salary for science, technology, engineering, mathematics, arts or business placements.