Hire Waterloo interns/co-op students for environmental protection, resource management and sustainability

Collage of photoes of students working in the environmental sectore. Students are surveying land, urban planning on a whiteboard and looking at plans near a wind turbine.

From carbon emissions and energy consumption to renewable resources and sustainability, these complex problems are shaping the environment industry today. As Canada’s leading centre for environmental research, Waterloo students offer the skills and critical thinking to design and implement solutions to these problems that will positively impact future generations for years to come.

You can hire adaptable and innovative students with expertise in climate change, pollution, geographic information systems and programming languages right now from Waterloo. With Waterloo’s central hiring platform, environmental organizations can start building their pipeline with future-proof talent today.

 Top reasons to Hire Waterloo

#1 in Canada for employer-student connections.

#1 on the QS Graduate Employability Ranking 2020 list. That’s why over 8,000 employers choose to hire Waterloo!
Top 5 in the world.

Ranked amongst the top five institutions in the world for Climate Change research
(QS 2019).
$2 for every $1 invested.

It's an investment in your business. On average, companies see a return of $2 for every $1 invested from hiring Waterloo co-op students.

How does co-op work?

1) Register and post Affordable way to fill your talent needs

Access 26,000 students available to hire for full-time positions.
2) Interview and hire Talent from 120+ accredited programs

Hire a student for 12 to 16 weeks.
3) Repeat Students are available year-round

Easily repost your job for the next work term on WaterlooWorks.

Join our Co-op Fundamentals Info Session

Gain insights on recruiting co-op talent, navigating Waterloo's hiring process, applying for funding opportunities and how we can support you.

Jobs Waterloo co-op students can fill

Waterloo students have the skills and expertise to fill roles in environmental protection, resource management, green energy and sustainability. Learn more about areas students can support in some common job categories below.

Tip for posting your job: Employers can use clusters to target students they believe would be best suited for the job. Clusters are sorted into academic (course specific) and thematic (industry specific). Learn more about clusters and how to use them to advertise your job.

Environmental protection

Sample jobs:

  • Waste Management Technician

  • Sustainability Analyst/Coordinator

  • Environmental Technician

  • Safety Research Assistant

  • Conservationist

  • Biological Testing

  • Risk Management

Sample job responsibilities:

  • Promote waste and environmental
    management at special events

  • Analyze performance metrics, water consumption and waste diversion

  • Assist with collection, manipulation,
    analysis and interpretation of data

  • Prepare statistical reports

  • Complete field tasks, including groundwater and surface water sampling, flow measurement and mapping of drainage patterns


 
Sample thematic job clusters:
Sustainable development
Waste or water management
Natural resource management
Scientific experimental design and lab assistance
Insurance and risk management

Green energy

Sample jobs:

  • Research Associate

  • Advanced Planning Intern

  • Business Analyst

  • Project Coordinator

  • Environmental Engineering Associate

  • Infrastructure Intern

  • Quality Assurance Specialist

  • Systems Design Assistant

  • Marketing and Public Relations Intern

Sample job responsibilities:

  • Design and operation of fuel cell and battery power systems

  • Test materials

  • Handle compressed gasses

  • Develop reports and presentations to communicate project updates, research findings and backgrounders to various stakeholders

  • Work with Technical Leads to support testing and operations at pilot sites

Sample thematic job clusters
Energy production and distribution
Sustainable development
Construction and infrastructure development
Data analysis
Statistical analysis
Mathematical optimization
Computing software
Marketing and communication

Resource management

Sample jobs:

  • Sport Fish Technician

  • Ecological Monitoring Technician

  • Landfill Operations

  • Species at Risk Research

  • Food Loss Waste Data Collection

  • Habitat Data Officer

  • GIS Technician

  • Forest Technician

  • Telecom Engineering Assistant

  • Geological Engineering Assistant

  • Risk Management

Sample job responsibilities:

  • Prepare data and create summary reports

  • Service remote wildlife cameras and classify images

  • Create GIS data

  • Implement field operations, such as:

    • tree marking

    • harvest inspections

    • record-keeping

    • developing bid proposals

    • inventory collection

    • direct input to forest management implementation

  • Support field exploration programs, including mapping, sampling and logistical support

Sample thematic job clusters:
Teaching, training and educational services
Sustainable development
Natural resource management
Energy production and distribution
Insurance and risk management

Resource sustainability

Sample jobs:

  • Research Associate

  • Outdoor Environmental
    Education Instructor

  • Junior Policy Analyst

  • Education Consultant

  • Junior Planning Officer

  • Geological Assistant

  • Metallurgical Engineering

  • Sustainability Analyst

Sample job responsibilities:

  • Research and analyze topics/trends related to disruptive/transformative technologies

  • Produce price forecasts for electricity markets

  • Assist with geological activities at both the deposit- and regional-scale

  • Perform metallurgical sample preparation such as sectioning, grinding, polishing,etching

Sample thematic job clusters:
Teaching, training educational services
Sustainable development
Natural resource management
Energy production and distribution
Data analytics, statistical analysis and optimization

Don’t see what you’re looking for? With students from 120+ programs available each term, we can help you find the talent you need. Connect with us today!

Industry-leading companies hire co-op students 

Businesses of every size choose to hire from Waterloo. Here’s a small snapshot of environmental organizations that hire Waterloo students:

  • Stantec

  • QM Environmental

  • CIMA+

  • DST Consulting Engineers

  • ICF International

  • McElhanney

  • Teck Resources Limited

  • AECOM

  • SNC-Lavalin

  • Matrix Solutions

  • Borealis Wind

  • ecobee

  • Evercloak

  • AOMS Technologies Inc.

  • Carbon Matrix

  • Betterfrost Technologies


Hear about Avani Bio Energy’s experience hiring Waterloo
co-op students

View on YouTube

We have engaged with all sorts of students from the Waterloo co-op program to not only improve the engineering of technology, but also to study the impact of the technology on the rural communities, and the ecology of the region. I'm very happy to say that the students have done such a wonderful job.

Rajnish Jain, co-founder of Avani Bio Energy

Top wage subsidies and tax incentives for hiring co-op

STUDENT WORK PLACEMENT PROGRAM (SWPP) RECEIVE UP TO $5,000 PER CO-OP STUDENT

Through SWPP, organizations in Canada that offer full-time employment opportunities for full-time
Canadian post-secondary students can receive wage subsidies. Several partners that deliver this funding for the environment and sustainability sector include ECO Canada and Ontario Chamber of Commerce.

How much is this funding? Funding will cover up to 50% wage subsidy (up to a maximum of $5,000 per 4-month work term).
  • Organizations within Canada that offer full-time employment opportunities between 8–16 weeks for full-time post-secondary students can receive wage subsidies.
  • Students hired from under-represented groups may be eligible to have up to 70% of their wages subsidized. This is determined on a case-by-case basis at the end of each work term.
Am I eligible?

  • Positions must be net new to qualify for SWPP funding (i.e.: positions over and above what employers hired last year at the same time)There is SWPP funding available to employers in all industries.

  • There is SWPP funding available to employers in all industries.

  • Employers can hire students in any program (i.e., Arts, Business, Science, Environment, etc.).

  • Students must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents or a person to whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for the duration of employment to qualify for funding from SWPP.

  • Post-secondary institutions now qualify for SWPP funding as long as the experience is a quality work-integrated learning opportunity that's linked to the student's program of study and career goals. This also applies to research positions.

  • Provincial and territorial governments are NOT eligible for SWPP funding.
How can I apply? You apply directly to each funding partner. We've put together a helpful list of details for all the funding partners. Take a look for more information!
What's the application deadline? Applications are open! Deadlines vary by funding partner.

ONTARIO CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATION TAX CREDIT $3,000 TAX CREDIT PER CO-OP STUDENT

Other provincial-based tax credits and incentives are available based on region.

How much is this funding?

Large corporations can claim 25% of expenditures, up to $3,000, while small businesses can claim 30% of expenditures up to $3,000, per eligible work placement. This tax credit is available for each work placement. Each work placement needs to be a minimum of 10 weeks and maximum of 4 months with no cap on the amount of eligible work placements an employer submits.

Employers may have multiple work placements which take place at the same time and throughout the year (I.e. If an organization decides to hire for an eight-month work term, or two students for four-month work terms, both would be considered as two work placements and would be eligible for a total tax credit of up to $6,000).
Am I eligible?

Any Ontario employer hiring students from a post-secondary co-op program
How can I apply? Corporations claim the tax credit on Schedule 550 of their T2 corporation income tax return. Unincorporated businesses claim the credit on Form ON479 in their tax return.Learn more about the forms you need to submit on the government website.
What's the application deadline? Tax season each year.

A tip to maximize your funding

Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) funding can be combined with the Ontario
Co-operative Education Tax Credit. This means that you might be eligible to receive both types of funding.
 
For example: for each student you hire, you could receive up to $5,000 in SWPP funding plus an Ontario Co-operative Education Tax Credit of up to $3,000 in expenditures not covered by SWPP!

I want to learn more! Send me co-op hiring information:

* indicates required