Environment

• Environmental Careers in Canada
• Before You Come to Canada
• Preparing to Work as an Environmental Professional in Canada
• Finding a Job in Canada
• Additional Resources

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Environmental Careers in Canada

The Canadian environmental sector is extremely broad, integrating environmental protection, conservation and preservation of natural resources, and environmental sustainability. As awareness of environmental issues increases, so does the growth of the environmental sector. Rapid technological advances are generating new knowledge, products and processes that create several challenges and opportunities for environmental work.

The environmental sector is comprised of a variety of occupations, including the following:

• engineers (environmental, civil, geotechnical or geological)
• technicians and technologists (environmental, laboratory, conservation, geomatics)
• biologists
• agrologists
• chemists
• geoscientists (geologists and geophysicists)
• environmental educators
• hydrogeologists
• land use planners
• project or program managers

Before you come to Canada

While you are waiting to go to Canada, there are many important things you can do to improve your chance for success.

The Foreign Credentials Referral Office is an organization of the Government of Canada that provides you with helpful resources such as the Planning to Work In Canada? workbook and the Working in Canada Tool. Use these resources to find and collect important information and to develop your job search plan.

You will need to prove your language skills in English or French or be tested. You can find information at www.language.ca. If you need to improve your language skills, start before you come to Canada.

Your official education, work and identity documents are important. It is much easier for you to gather and organize your documents while still in your home country.

Verify translation requirements. In some cases, you will have to use a professional translation service in Canada.

Preparing to Work as an Environmental Professional in Canada

One of the challenges to finding employment in Canada for internationally trained professionals is employer recognition of foreign education. As a newcomer to Canada, it is important to showcase how your education and experience translate into Canadian environmental standards. Canadianize your foreign education through the Canadian Centre for Environmental Education’s post-graduate professional Certificate in Environmental Practice.

Certificate benefits

• Delivered entirely through distance learning
• Designed in association with the National Occupational Standards for Environmental Employment, this Certificate provides applicable Canadian industry-specific knowledge.
• Administered through Royal Roads University; a recognized Canadian educational institution, and 25 other Canadian educational institutions.

If you are interested in pursuing a greater level of professional recognition within the environmental sector, ECO Canada’s certifying body — the Canadian Environmental Certification Approvals Board — offers two voluntary professional designations for environmental practitioners:

• Canadian Certified Environmental Practitioner for professionals with over five years of relevant Canadian work experience
• Canadian Environmental Practitioner-in-Training for practitioners with less than five years of relevant work experience

Designation benefits

• Matches your skill set against Canadian industry benchmarks
• Provides you with a personal profile that identifies your strengths within the sector
• Aids in creating and identifying your career path
• Connects you to a national network of environmental practitioners
• Increases employment opportunities through a demonstrated level of expertise

For more information, visit www.eco.ca/certification.

Finding a Job in Canada

To find a job in Canada, it is important to ensure that you are well prepared and ready to take a proactive approach to job searching.

ECO Canada’s Online Immigrant Resource Centre is an excellent starting point which includes a number of resources:

• Pre-departure information
• Environmental labour market research
• Links to immigrant agencies
• Job preparation tools

To find a job in the environmental sector in Canada, visit Canada’s largest environmental job board at www.eco.ca.

Visit ECO Canada for updates on the immigrant-bridging program coming in 2010.

Additional Resources

• Citizenship and Immigration Canada
• Service Canada
• Foreign Credentials Referral Office