Thanks to CICan’s Clean Tech Internship program, Red River College (RRC) was able to hire Eric Groot, a grad from RRC’s Instrumentation Engineering Technology program, to work at the college’s Building Envelope Technology Access Centre (BETAC).

Like RRC, you too can take advantage of the Clean Tech Internship program and receive a subsidy of up to $15,000 to hire a recent grad to support your green initiatives that have a link to clean technologies. You can complete the simple application process and hire an intern to grow your team and complement its set of skills and abilities.

“I would use the program again without hesitation,” says Rob Spewak, manager at BETAC, during his TACTalk at the Tech-Access Canada conference last April. “The internship funds helped us subsidize a position that is not generating revenue, but rather building capacity and distinctive expertise that could lead to future revenue streams for RRC. The reporting process was also very straightforward.”

As a research analyst, Eric is working to insert building envelope sensors in the Skills Trade and Technology Centre currently under construction at the college. These sensors will monitor moisture in the roof system and measure heat flow through wall sections. The goal is to use the sensor data to gain insight on how to improve building efficiency to reduce the energy needed to heat and cool commercial buildings.

His internship now complete, Eric continues to work at BETAC and has future career prospects with industry partners. “My work is providing me with a meaningful experience in the environmental sector, and is giving me a chance to manage my own projects and communicate with industry professionals. I’ve had the opportunity to learn new skills and I’m able to apply what I’ve learned in college to these projects.”