Participating in Building Young Professionals
How it Works
The Building Young Professionals (BYP) programme has three key phases designed to support youth in launching their green careers:
Learning
Participants attend in monthly online, interactive learning workshops taught by industry leaders and attend an in-person experiential weekend. Our workshops are designed to help participants build essential skills, access support, and work towards their professional goals.
The workshops will cover topics such as:
- The Future of Work in the Green Economy
- Sustainable finance
- Climate policy
- Renewable energy
- Additional topics based on participant feedback on pre-surveys
We provide learning opportunities through shared experiences, resources, and extra course materials available on our digital platforms. Through case studies and exercises, participants apply key concepts to real-world scenarios.
Green Initiatives Challenge
The goal of Green Initiatives Challenge is to develop solutions to every day environmental challenges faced by society, as well as the development of teamwork and unity. Using the knowledge learnt by the online, interactive workshops, participants will showcase techniques, skills, knowledge and creative thinking to provide a solution to a fictitious common environmental problem faced by society.
Teams will also further include elements of data tools and communication for efficiency and sustainability learnt in the Experiential Weekend.
Teams will have an opportunity to present their projects to their fellow peers. The winning team will be featured on BYP social media.
All projects will be hosted on the BYP UNA-Canada website, allowing participants to include them in their resume/portfolio as a demonstration of skills and experience.
Mentorship
Each participant is matched with a mentor—an industry professional or community leader—who offers career guidance, resume feedback, and support during the green job search.
Work Experience
Eligible participants may be able to qualify for:
- Paid Internships with partner organizations (based on availability and qualifications of the employer)
- Job shadowing opportunities for short-term, hands-on exposure to green careers
Participants must be able to legally work in Canada to be eligible for this portion of the programme.
Experiential Weekend
Our participants will attend an in-person learning experience where they will demonstrate and present what they have learnt through the online workshops.
During the weekend, they will collaborate in thematic groups to tackle sustainability challenges, focusing on data tools and communication for Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Buildings.
In addition, the participants will be able to build life-long friendships and network with other participants in the programme.
Participant Eligibility
Participants must :
- Live in Canada
- Be between the ages of 20 and 29
- Be an underserved youth
- Be a Canadian citizen, temporary or permanent resident (including international students, temporary foreign workers)
Do you have any questions? To learn more, contact:
buildingyoungentrepreneurs@unac.org
Serving Underserved Youth
The Building Young Professionals programme has been assisting underserved communities since its creation.
Some of the communities we serve:
- Indigenous (including northern territories in Canada)
- Women
- LGBTQ2+
- Newcomers to Canada (including international students and temporary foreign workers)
- Racialized communities
- Differently-abled individuals
- Individuals of low socioeconomic status
- Rural or remote communities
How did participants feel about their experiences?
