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CONFIDENTIAL: FOR INTERNAL REVIEW ONLY
Internal Draft
National Occupational Standards for Environmental Employment and Environmental Professional Certification
25 June 2015
Prepared by: Research Team, ECO Canada
For comments or discussion, contact: Joanne O’Connell—Director, Research [email protected]
CONFIDENTIAL: FOR INTERNAL REVIEW ONLY
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface: Visionary thinking for Canada’s employment future 3
Chapter 1: An existing model or a new paradigm? 4
Chapter 2: The Environment “Sector” 6
Chapter 3: National Occupational Standards for Environmental Employment 8
Chapter 4: Environmental Professional Certification 18
Chapter 5: Looking Forward 22
Appendices:
A: Timeline: Evolution of the NOS 23
B: Glossary 32
C: Structure of the NOS Dictionary & Applications 35
D: Calculation of Pass/Fail for EP Applications (detail) 40
E: How ECO Canada measures environmental employment 44 in relation to NOS, NOC and NAICS
NOTE FOR ECO CANADA STAFF:
Created by the Research Team and with assistance from an external writer (an EP,
Sustainability), the content of this report was sourced in part from a compilation of existing
research and documents and in part from information gathered during several ECO Canada staff
interviews.
This document is still in draft format and therefore may contain minor discrepancies or
inaccuracies, however at this stage the information contained herein still serves as a useful
resource for enhancing staff comprehension of program history and changes. Please note,
however, that until sourcing and vetting is finalized, this document is NOT to be shared
externally.
CONFIDENTIAL: FOR INTERNAL REVIEW ONLY
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PREFACE: VISIONARY THINKING FOR CANADA’S EMPLOYMENT FUTURE
In the early 1990’s the Canadian government established and provided startup funding to about 30 sector councils—
industry-led partnership organizations that bring employers, workers, educators, governments and other professional
groups together to address human resource challenges facing the Canadian economy. (Industry Canada:
http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/054.nsf/eng/00083.html Retrieved 16 April 2015.)
As a government initiated and (initially) funded endeavour, the Sector Council Program endured through several decades
and several changes in government. Renamed the Sector Initiatives Program in 2013, the program has narrowed its
scope somewhat; however as of 2015, it retains a mandate to understand and build Canada’s labour force—a matter of
primary importance for shared national interests.
Through this program the government gave an important and weighty body of work to ECO Canada to define and
understand the Canadian environmental sector and its workforce in order to help ensure its sustainable economic
viability and its global relevance and competitiveness—critical matters of economic, political and social importance for
all Canadians.
Ultimately, and at the heart of environmental work across industries and types of employment, is a common aim: to
protect, manage or sustain Canada’s natural environment. This aim, achieved through the activities of people, means that
in order to properly define the environment industry and carry out its mandate, the foundation of ECO Canada’s work
must focus on the details and nature of environmental work and the labour force that carries it out.
Opportunity for enhanced understanding
From the description of the sector council initiative in the first paragraph above, the term “industry-led” may
require further exploration, as it presents some ambiguity in relation to ECO Canada. Given that environmental
work takes place across many output-based industries, is there currently a strong enough “demand-side” voice
from these industries to assist in finding ways to increase connections into workplaces and to raise awareness of
Canadian employers towards certifiable environmental professions? (Of course, this presupposes that there is not,
at present, a high level of awareness or value given by organizations to the EP designation).
ECO Canada’s Mission:
To ensure an adequate supply of people with demonstrated skills and knowledge required to meet the
environmental human resource needs of the public and private sectors.
CCHREI 2004 ELM Report
ECO Canada Vision:
To build the world’s leading environmental workforce. We work towards this vision by training and
certifying environmental professionals, offering the country’s premier environmental job board and
training academy, and setting the standards for certified Environmental Professionals (EPs). All of our
services are responsive to industry demand with insight from ongoing labour market research.”
Source: (ECO Canada Marketing 2015)
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Chapter 1: An existing model or a new paradigm?
For thousands of years it was the common understanding that the sun revolved around the earth. In 1539,
after trying in vain to better mathematically define planetary movements using this thinking, Copernicus
presented a theory that the earth and other planets, in fact, revolve around the sun. Although sometimes we
can solve a problem by examining it within an existing model, like Copernicus, we may sometimes also face
the limitations of an existing paradigm, where no amount of ‘tweaking’ it will provide a sustainable solution
and we need to consider that progress may mean looking at our challenge in fundamentally different way.
When we compare what we understand and how we think about the environment today with our knowledge
of even a few decades ago, we can easily see that environmental employment is dynamic and that
environmental considerations are incorporated more and more into individual, business and government
decisions in many complex ways. Attributed in part to the evolution of the global economy, scientific and
technological advancements, greater social awareness and advocacy, legal/policy changes and enhanced
environmental study, this growing awareness represents a requirement for organizations and individuals to
keep pace, or risk obsolescence.
PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT
From a strategic perspective and in the context of ever-growing environmental awareness and industry
maturation, it is important to ensure that ECO Canada’s1 mandate, its programs and its operational focus are
still correctly aligned and are keeping pace with the realities of industry and the environmental employment
market.
This document has been written in order to capture in one place, elements of the National Occupational
Standards (NOS) for Environmental Employment2 and the Environmental Professional (EP) certification
framework in order to:
1) Understand how they relate to each other; 2) Understand the implications of past or planned changes; and 3) Look to the future to determine what preparatory actions may be needed or to determine if a stage
has been reached where the prevailing paradigm is challenged and a different approach is needed.
In an effort to provide the insight into the rationale for past decisions or existing structure and processes
concerning the NOS and EP certification, we can also take from this report a summary of issues where
ambiguity or contradiction may exist; where issues have arisen or current practices may be challenged; and
where an opportunity to further examine or leverage different approaches may be in the best interests of the
organization and its mandate.
This examination will provide support to ECO Canada and its efforts to develop a strategy for ensuring that
it continues to deliver on its mandate to manage realistic NOS for environmental professionals; to provide
accurate research and projections on industry trends; and to bring forth relevant insights and solutions to
labour market challenges.
1 The name “ECO Canada” is used throughout this document to refer to the current organization, as well as its previous names
and/or structures. E.g., The Canadian Council for Human Resources in the Environment Industry (CCHREI) was renamed ECO
Canada on March 31, 2005.
2 ECO Canada develops and maintains several types of NOS (see Appendix C). For the purposes of this paper, when we say
“NOS”, we are referring to the NOS for Environmental Employment and its associated competencies unless otherwise stated.
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INDUSTRY, THE NOS AND EP CERTIFICATION: THREE PARTS OF A SYSTEM
In the next three chapters of this report we will provide an overview of 1) The environment sector as ECO
Canada defines it (also sometimes referred to as the environment “industry”); 2) the NOS for environmental
employment; and 3) EP Certification. It is important to recognize these three elements as a SYSTEM—that
is, they are three parts of a whole body that interact with and influence the others for an overall effect. If one
element of the system is changed, there will be change realized by other parts of the system or by the system
as a whole (sometimes with unintended consequences).
Over time, shifting priorities, new technologies and other external factors will have an impact on the system
or any component of it. Regular ‘fine tuning’ of the system ensures that it correctly reflects the industry, the
NOS, and components of certification. However, at a certain point tweaks and fine-tuning may start to create
more confusion than clarity. At this point we realize that a more dynamic approach to keeping the system
current is needed. For this to happen ECO Canada will be required to demonstrate a great deal of leadership
and will need to expend a great deal of intellectual energy. Like Copernicus—who proposed that the Sun, not
the Earth was the centre of the solar system—we can sometimes only progress and realize the full potential
of the future when we are willing to adapt to a new paradigm. More about the review process can be read at
Chapter 5 on page 22.
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
� Every 10-15 years (at most)
� Strategic examination
of the organization
FINE-TUNING
� Adjustment to existing
competencies (wording/
accuracy)
� Addition of new
competencies (given
new technologies, industry
maturation, etc.)
Environment Sector
� Employment-based definition
� Describes work (tasks) versus industry output
� Based on ECO Canada defined competencies for
environmental work
National Occupational Standards
� Defines areas of expertise and common competencies and
sets standards for success
� Established to develop and accredit training/ education
programs and supports EP certification
� Helps define roles given local, national and/or international
laws, regulations and industry practices
Environmental Professional Certification
� Certifies individuals as being able to carry out their
work according to NOS Standards
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Chapter 2: The Environment “Sector”
WHY DO WE NEED TO DEFINE THE “ENVIRONMENT SECTOR”?
In economic terms, a sector is typically described as grouping of similar commodity or service-based industries.
(E.g. the mining sector could consist of the coal, potash, gold and other industries.)
But the environment sector does not fit well into this description. It is an ‘employment-based’ sector consisting of
people who impact, evaluate, study or monitor the environment (or certain elements of it) as part of their job,
regardless of industry.
The Government of Canada creates regulations and makes decisions in order to leverage Canada’s natural
resources for economic benefits while at the same time, ensuring the sustainability of and protection for the
natural environment.
In order to carry out its work to fully understand the environmental labour market and, in turn, support the
protection, management and sustainability of Canada’s natural environment, ECO Canada defines the
Canadian environment sector ‘employment based’. When we understand environmental work that is inclusive
of as many environmental workers as possible (regardless of industry), ECO Canada is able to develop and
manage meaningful programs, conduct impactful research, certify professionals and accredit training
programs in a manner that best meets Canada’s needs while satisfying its regulated requirements or other
considerations.
EMPLOYMENT-BASED INDUSTRY
ECO Canada categorizes overall environmental work on the basis of tasks performed on the job, regardless
of the output industry affiliation. This is often referred to as “employment-based” definition. In defining the
industry in this manner ECO Canada can carry out its work and assess the industry in terms of what people
do on the job, defining those jobs on the basis of the required competencies.
SETTING THE PRECEDENT
In the 1990s, after a major development project
involving consultation with many stakeholders
from across the country, ECO Canada created a
set of competencies which defined what
constituted “environmental work”.3 This, in
turn, determined what would constitute the “environmental sector” which ECO would attempt to measure.
This activity formed the foundation of a primary objective of ECO Canada – to develop and sustain National
Occupational Standards (NOS) for environmental employment. See page 8 for an overview of the NOS.
However, regardless of the competency, it is recognized that while much work on the “environment” is based
on a foundation of traditional physical sciences (e.g. biology, chemistry and physics), or traditional applied
3 If an activity was not included within the set of competencies, for the ECO definitions, it was not within the “environment industry”. This is
relevant to later discussions when the concept of “Green Economy” became current. The “Green Economy” often includes concepts of
attempting to change / modify / improve the environment, whereas the competencies for the “environment industry” include, for example,
measuring various environmental attributes without an implication of change. “Green” people might fight pesticides whereas someone in the
“environment industry” might just measure their spread.
“Competency” is a concept commonly used in the HR
field to describe performance requirements in terms
of behaviour—that is—how a job should be
performed in terms of a person’s knowledge, skills
and personal attributes.
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sciences (e.g. engineering), much of the work carried out is enhanced through multi-disciplinary experience
and study beyond traditional practices. Therefore, work within the “environment sector”, no matter how
understood, is taken to be “discipline-plus”. CHALLENGES
ECO Canada is continually challenged to relate to and or incorporate new industry-related “green”
definitions (e.g. Clean Tech) and new ways that advocacy and lobby groups may look at the environment.
Defining the amorphous and ever-emerging concept of an “environment industry” that does not easily fit
into current coding systems is a matter of discussion among many nations and bodies.
While there is a growing body of literature on the subject, there is, as yet, no universally accepted manner in
which to define it, creating the challenge for ECO Canada to be diligent in its efforts to correlate its research
with labour market realities and ultimately make recommendations and decisions that help advance work to
address human resource challenges for environmental employment.
N
Opportunity for enhanced understanding re: Industry vs. Sector
The terms “industry” and “sector” are often used interchangeably, within ECO Canada documentation as well as
in Canadian industry and labour publications and websites in general. In financial/ economic terms, the general
convention is that a collection of related industries is a sector (e.g., the manufacturing sector) where several
industries would exist within that sector (e.g., the manufacturing sector would include the semiconductor
industry and the automotive industry).
ECO Canada divides and categorizes the environmental industry as a“sector” model, where the industry is
broken into three sectors and then 14 subsectors.
Although somewhat ambiguous, and while this application of the term “sector” is not necessarily incorrect, the
terminology /structure may need to be frequently explained in ECO Canada’s public communications in order to
help avoid ambiguity.
For clarity, it is proposed that “sectors” as described in ECO Canada’s environment industry sector model be
called “clusters” instead.
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Chapter 3: National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Environmental Employment
The National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Environmental Employment are occupational standards that are
tailored specifically to the Canadian environmental sector. They provide a description of the competencies
(i.e., knowledge, skills and attributes) required by experienced practitioners employed as environmental
professionals/workers.4
WHY DO WE NEED NOS?
In general, occupational standards are often
presented in the form of statements
outlining the knowledge, skills and
performance required of an individual to be
considered competent in an occupation. NOS
are considered the benchmarks against which people of a particular occupation measure their level of
performance and competency.
NOS for environmental employment are voluntary standards for environmental professionals describing
required core knowledge, transferable competencies and technical skills for particular environmental
professions.
As a national, industry-initiated and led body with a mandate to resolve human resource issues faced by the
Canadian environmental sector, a key objective for ECO Canada since its inception has been to establish and
maintain a set of NOS for environmental employment.
These NOS are established in order to develop and accredit training and education programs; to define areas
of expertise and common competencies; and to help define the roles of professionals given local, national
and/or international laws, regulations and industry practices.
These standards are also important because when environmental work is carried on without standards there
could be costly and negative implications or consequences as a result.
BY ENVIRONMENTAL PROFESSIONALS, FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROFESSIONALS
As a cross-sector, multidisciplinary group of professions, environmental employment requires specific
attention to ensure the currency and accuracy of its definition of standards.
Compiled using a process of broad-based input from people working in environmental fields, the NOS for
environmental employment use a bottom-up approach in conjunction with the guidance of senior
environmental experts to help ensure that the standards are of high quality and relevance – creating an
accurate depiction of current and emerging competencies in the many subsectors of environmental
employment.
4 ECO Canada develops and maintains several types of NOS and their associated competencies (see Appendix C).
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY “NATIONAL” ?
NOS are developed with a national objective to address
human resources challenges facing the Canadian economy.
They require pan-Canadian validation and endorsement to
enable recognition of these qualifications across Canada.
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NOS: DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC AND DISCIPLINE-PLUS STANDARDS
Traditional 'occupational standards' typically specify the proficiency requirements of a singular, well-defined
occupation (e.g. doctors, lawyers, engineers). Traditional occupational standards are specific enough to cover
the range of the work typically associated with a certain occupation, but general enough to be applicable when
the occupation is performed within several different industries.
Those working in jobs dealing with the environment have different occupations, are found in many different
industries, and the nature of their duties often differs considerably. As a result ECO Canada developed
standards that include all of the environment-related competencies that are shared and performed by
practitioners with different academic backgrounds, as well as those that may be unique to certain professions.
ECO Canada uses the term 'discipline-plus', as described briefly on page 6, to refer to the nature of the
environmental competencies it has documented.
The discipline-plus concept brings in the notion that environmental occupations, according to ECO Canada's
research, are usually founded first on a formal discipline training (e.g., chemistry, biology, geology,
engineering) and secondly substantiated by multi-disciplinary competencies that are specific to environmental
work, and are usually developed with experience and/or further professional training. A grasp of this concept
is essential to understanding ECO Canada's standards.
DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW OF THE ECO NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS
All of ECO Canada’s NOS followed a rigorous methodology for development that is designed to engage
professionals at every step of the process: 1.) Defining & Documenting the tasks that professionals carry
out on the job 2) Verification of those tasks 3) Survey and Validation of the proposed descriptions among
professionals, academics and other stakeholders.
Originally updated every 5 years, ECO Canada needed to ensure that the NOS remained accurate and
reflective of the current realities of environmental employment in Canada. Over the years, the research and
validation process resulted in interesting and sometimes significant changes to the NOS structure (see
Appendix A). Following rigorous research and analysis, including a national online survey, focus groups held
across Canada and consultations with myriad environmental experts, the Sector Model describing
environmental employment was developed as an aid to organizing and understanding the NOS. The current
version of this model, along with some additional context, can be seen on page 14.
Define & Document
VerifySurvey & Validate
Current and emerging competencies - per input from professionals
National
Occupational
Standards Knowledge, skills,
context, scope, etc.
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HOW ARE NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS USED?
NOS are comprised of a series of competency statements reflecting the skills and knowledge needed by
professionals to work in their fields of employment. In addition to being used as a guide for hiring practices,
occupational standards are used to inform employment models, to educate students about and to meet the
standards of the profession, and to develop training curricula. As NOS are developed, verified or updated, the
information can provide valuable insights into labour market trends, gaps and emerging priorities--further
assisting the environmental industry to develop effective human resource strategies and to ensure recognition
of skills and consistent training program
delivery.
ECO Canada also uses the NOS as a
basis for a national environmental
program accreditation system in
collaboration with educators,
accreditation professionals and industry.
This accreditation demonstrates to
students, parents, educators and
industry that environmental programs
have met and are committed to
upholding a national standard.
HOW ARE THE NATIONAL
OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS STRUCTURED?
A. COMPETENCIES: In technical terms, competencies are the outcomes of applying relevant knowledge
and skills in the performance of a task. The NOS provide a description of the competencies required by
practitioners with five or more years of environmental experience and at least some within a designated sub-
sector and occupational level.5
The NOS for environmental employment are based primarily on technical competencies – the “hard” skills a
person would find useful in a specific kind of workplace or in a specific role they might have.
Examples of ECO NOS COMPETENCIES:
#189. Develops methods for indexing existing natural resources and parameters (e.g., wildlife populations and harvest mortality)
#262. Establishes the framework, baselines and benchmarks against which environmental
research outcomes can be measured
5 Over the years there has been some ambiguity as to whether the amount of environmental experience required is three or
five years.
National
Occupational
Standards
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ECO also publishes “transferable” competencies – the “soft” skills that facilitate behaviour in any workplace.
There are currently 42 transferable competencies. These competencies are relevant, but they are not used
directly in the validation of the professional (based on the assumption that the employer has already
determined this). These competencies serve as descriptors, as a means of ‘rounding out’ the summary of the
practitioner’s work.
B. DICTIONARY: The complete set of 330 technical competencies within the NOS for all Environmental
Employment across all sub-sectors is called the Dictionary.
…#189. Develops methods for indexing existing natural resources and parameters (e.g., wildlife populations and harvest mortality)
#262. Establishes the framework, baselines and
benchmarks against which environmental research
outcomes can be measured
#247 etc.
C. COMPETENCY CATEGORIES AND SUBCATEGORIES: In order to more easily manage and catalogue
the Dictionary of competencies, ECO classifies each competency into a “category” and “subcategory”.6 More
importantly, when developing profiles for subsectors categorization and sub categorization of competencies
provides a more specific description of the nature of the tasks that comprise the profile. The classifications
are unique; in other words, each competency belongs to ONE category and ONE subcategory only.
If we use the two sample competencies from above, each belongs to one category and one sub category.
COMPETENCY CATEGORY SUB CATEGORY
#189. Develops methods for indexing existing
natural resources and parameters (e.g., wildlife
populations and harvest mortality.)
M: Natural
Resources Planning
& Management
M24: Conducting studies related to
ecosystem and habitat preservation and/or
the management of natural resources
COMPETENCY CATEGORY SUB CATEGORY
#262. Establishes the framework, baselines
and benchmarks against which environmental
research outcomes can be measured
O:
Environmental
Research
O31:
Conducting environmental
research/publishing results
6 Conceptually, “category” groups competencies into general areas of practice, and a “sub-category” is a family of jobs with
similar tasks or outcomes.
DICTIONARY For NOS for
Environmental
Employment consists
of 330 technical
COMPETENCIES
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As of 2015, the categories and subcategories are as follows:
CATEGORY SUBCATEGORIES
A – Environmental Impact
Assessment A1 Conducting environmental impact assessments
B – Site Assessment (RRR) B2 Conducting environmental site assessments (ESA – Phase 1 and Phase 2)
B3 Developing/Implementing site remediation (Phase 3) plan
B4 Developing/implementing site restoration/reclamation (Phase 3) plans
C – Regulatory &
Enforcement C5 Interpreting/enforcing/complying with environmental regulations and standards
D – Pollution Prevention,
Abatement & Control D6 Implementing pollution prevention, abatement & control (PAC) methods
E – Climate Change E7 Identifying and mitigating climate change inputs
F – Waste Management F8 Developing/Implementing waste management plans and programs
F9 Monitoring waste application/disposal/reduction programs and activities
G – Water Quality
Management G10 Developing/Implementing water supply and water efficiency plans and programs
H – Environmental
Sampling & Analytical
Work
H11 Developing environmental sampling, testing and monitoring programs
H12 Collecting samples and data for environmental purposes
H13 Analyzing and interpreting environmental samples and data
I – Policy Development &
Planning
I14 Developing environmental policies, measures & standards
I15 Liaising and partnering with stakeholders
J – Planning, Monitoring &
Reporting for Sustainability
J16 Developing sustainability strategies, programs, plans, and indicators
J17 Implementing/monitoring sustainability strategies, plans and programs
K – Corporate
Environmental Program
Planning &
Implementation
K18 Developing corporate environmental and/or sustainability plans, policies and procedures
K19 Conducting environmental risk assessments
K20 Implementing environmental and/or sustainability management systems
K21 Managing environmental and/or sustainability management systems and practices
K22 Coordinating environmental aspects of facility design & operation
L – Environmental Safety L23 Monitoring/addressing occupational and public health and safety
M – Natural Resources
Planning & Management
M24 Conducting studies related to ecosystem and habitat preservation and/or the management of natural resources
M25 Developing and implementing plans, programs and practices for ecosystem and habitat preservation and/or the management of natural resources
M26 Monitoring/evaluating effectiveness of programs and practices related to ecosystem and habitat preservation and/or management of natural resources
N – Environmental Training
& Education
N27 Developing environmental curricula and programs
N28 Implementing environmental education and training
N29 Evaluating/Mentoring/Supervising students/practitioners
O – Environmental O30 Designing/developing environmental research and development proposals, programs, and projects
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CATEGORY SUBCATEGORIES
Research O31 Conducting environmental research/publishing results
P – Environmental
Business, Technology &
Product Development
P32 Developing/Coordinating/Implementing energy efficiency programs
P33 Identifying/Implementing activities pertinent to commercialization of environmental technologies, systems and equipment
Q – Environmental
Communications and
Public Awareness
Q34 Developing/Implementing environmental and/or sustainability communications and awareness programs
Q35 Presenting expert information on environmental matters
R - Energy management,
energy efficiency and
renewable energy
R36 Creating, managing and/or implementing energy management and energy efficiency strategies, initiatives, projects and programs.
R37 Managing and/or implementing renewable energy related strategies, initiatives, projects and programs
There are two different ways of classifying the NOS. This section just explained the first – which is
categorization and sub categorization of competencies. This next section will show how the NOS is classified
into profiles based on the Sector/Subsector model of the Environmental Industry.
Opportunity for enhanced understanding: Sector Model and Category Model
In this section we have just described the “categorization and sub categorization” structure of the NOS
where the “categories” are related to the “output” nature of the tasks. They are functional in nature.
In the next section we will be describing the Sector Model to describe areas of environmental practice and
where some sub sectors are defined by output, some functionally and some by descriptions of the natural
environment.
Overall, there appears to be overlaps between the two. The only distinctions for the two models both
needing to exist were to assist in understanding and categorizing the NOS, but because they were developed
at different times and without referencing each other, there is a somewhat inconsistent or ambiguous
application of terminology.
This requires further clarity around definition and a standardized approach to nomenclature (as “sector” is
similar to and often used interchangeably with “industry” to describe the existing and potential
environmental employment market in Canada.).
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D. COMPETENCY PROFILES WITHIN THE ENVIRONMENT SECTOR MODEL
ECO Canada defines the environmental sector/industry in terms of a “Sector Model”, per the diagram below, which
currently consists of 3 sectors and 14 subsectors.
The competencies discussed in section “C” above are used to create “NOS PROFILES” or occupational
profiles for each of the 14 subsectors numbered in this Venn diagram.7
These NOS Profiles are based on tasks
or areas of practice normally
undertaken within that subsector.
The combination of competencies
in each profile is unique, even
though some competencies may appear
in more than one profile.
In practice, there is significant overlap
of competencies between profiles.
Using “Sector A: Environmental Protection” from Sector Model as an example, the table below lists
several competencies that would form part of its subsector profiles.
SECTOR A Environmental Protection COMPETENCIES (e.g.)
1. Air Quality 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 40, 41, 42, etc.
2. Water Quality 5, 7, 9, 40, 41, 42, 110, 111, etc.
3. Site Assessment & Reclamation 1, 6, 7, 9, 21, 23, 24, 102, etc.
4. Waste Management 1, 5, 10, 40, 41, 42, 70, 71, etc.
5. Health & Safety 2, 7, 40, 41, 42, 175, 176, 177, etc.
7 The competency statements of the NOS for environmental employment are ever evolving within a growing, and increasingly
complex industry. Since their initial development, much has changed and will continue to change with the way the standard is
organized, categorized or referenced. This change is necessary in order for ECO Canada to sustain its position as the “authority”
on Canada’s environmental labour market and to ensure that the NOS do not become obsolete or archaic. A comprehensive
record of all changes that have taken place since the initial NOS development can be found at Appendix A.
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Environmental Manager: In 2010 the Sector Model was updated in 2010 to include the introduction of a
14th specialization, the Environmental Manager role. This addition was made following significant research
and feedback from stakeholders as to the validity of the proposed addition.
This research led to the Environmental Manager role –with an emphasis on its strategic responsibilities rather
than supervisory ones—becoming part of the regular stream of certification rather than a hierarchical role to
specialized Environmental Practitioners and a different certification process.
Because of its functional overlap with the work in all the other subsectors, the Environmental Manager area
of practice was therefore situated at the centre of the Venn diagram. While somewhat contentious at first, the
work classified in this area of practice is performed by environmental professionals with extensive experience
who provide technical and strategic leadership, accountability and direction in the environmental fields of
their organizations or to organizations for which they provide environmental services.
E. COMPETENCIES (BY LEVEL OF IMPORTANCE) WITHIN NOS PROFILES
In reality and for any profession, some competencies are more important than others or are perhaps
performed more often. To acknowledge this, within each of the 14 subsectors the importance and frequency
of each competency is rated by classifying it as a Type 1, Type 2 or Type 3.8
Type 1 competencies - Essential because they are key competencies critical for the success of most
(>75%) workers.
Type 2 competencies – Necessary because they contribute to the success of most (>75%) workers
when they carry out Type 1 competencies.
Type 3 competencies - Essential because they are specialized competencies, critical for the success of
some (<40%) workers.
8 The definitions on this page for Type 1, 2 and 3 are for 2015. These terms have changed somewhat over the years, but they
change within the general direction shown here.
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By implication, while a competency may have a high level of importance or frequency in one subsector, it
could be a less important or frequent (though still required) competency in another.
Continuing to explore the Sector A example from the above, we start to see how profiles continue to be
refined based on further categorization of competencies by Type.
SECTOR A Environmental Protection COMPETENCIES
TYPE 1 TYPE 2 TYPE 3
1. Air Quality 4, 34, 35 3, 5, 6 159, 160, 161
2. Water Quality 40, 41, 42 109, 113, 114 5, 7, 9
3. Site Assessment & Reclamation 10, 11, 12 35, 37, 167 None
4. Waste Management 35, 40, 41 34, 36 10, 11, 14
5. Health & Safety 40, 41, 42 2, 7, 18 16, 31, 43
And if we return to the original two competencies given as an example at the beginning of this chapter we
can see how each competency might manifest in various ways within the NOS.
COMPETENCY SECTOR SUB
SECTOR TY
PE
1
TY
PE
2
TY
PE
3
CATEGORY SUBCATEGORY
#189. Develops methods for
indexing existing natural
resources and parameters
(e.g., wildlife populations and
harvest mortality.)
B: Resource
Management
Fisheries &
Wildlife
X
M:
Natural
Resources
Planning &
Management
M24:
Conducting
studies related
to ecosystem
and habitat
preservation
and/or the
management of
natural
resources
#262. Establishes the
framework, baselines and
benchmarks against which
environmental research
outcomes can be measured
B: Resource
Management
Fisheries &
Wildlife X O:
Environmental
Research
O31:
Conducting
environmental
research/publis
hing results
C:
Environmental
Sustainability
Education &
Training X
C:
Environmental
Sustainability
Research &
Development X
F. NOS STRUCTURE SUMMARY: All of these efforts to categorize, subcategorize, rank and assign
attributes to the NOS are essential to the work of ECO Canada. As Canada’s authority on
environmental work and the environmental labour force, the development and management of
comprehensive NOS for environmental employment creates the foundation for the organization’s
body of work.
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Within ECO Canada’s Sector Model for environmental employment, what is important to remember
about the structure of the NOS is:
a) The Model’s 14 subsectors each have an NOS
Profile based on combined competencies
b) The combination of competencies in each
NOS Profile is unique, even though some competencies
may appear in more than one profile
c) The Type of each competency (Type 1, 2 or 3)
is unique to that Profile; and therefore
d) Each subsector (and the Environmental Manager)
have a Profile with a unique pattern of:
- Categories and subcategories. Example: some
profiles may be heavy on competencies from the
“Climate Change” category whereas others are
lighter on the “Climate Change” category.
- Distribution of types. Some subsectors have a
narrow scope and virtually all competencies are
essential --therefore Type 1, whereas others are
very diverse and many competencies are Type 3.
- Total number of competencies. As above,
subsectors with a narrow scope will have fewer
competencies than subsectors with a wider scope.
NOS: THE FOUNDATION FOR CERTIFICATION
One of the widest applications of the NOS is ECO Canada’s Environmental Professional (EP) and other
certification and accreditation programs (EP). NOS form the foundation of these programs and has now, for
example, certified over 3000 workers from across the country as Environmental Professionals (EP) or
Environmental Professionals in Training (EP(t)).
CHALLENGES:
As perhaps some of the content within this chapter illustrates, there is a great deal of complexity involved in defining professional competencies in a sector that is continually growing, evolving and adapting to changing social pressures and priorities. Overall, this is ultimately good for Canada’s economy and environment. However, it does present several challenges to ECO Canada in terms of transparency, its mandate, priorities and available resources.
If we use an example from the Model, we can start
to see what the unique NOS PROFILE for an AIR
QUALITY professional would look like.
SECTOR: (A OR B OR C)
SUBSECTOR: (One of the 14 Sub Sectors)
COMPETENCIES TYPE (1 or 2 or 3)
CATEGORY (One of 18 – lettered A through R)
SUBCATEGORY (One of 37 – A1 through R37)
COMPETENCY TYPE 1 OR 2 OR 3
COMPETENCY
COMPETENCY
ETC.
SUBCATEGORY
COMPETENCY
COMPETENCY
(Repeat)
CATEGORY
SUBCATEGORY
COMPETENCY
COMPETENCY
COMPETENCY
ETC.
SUBCATEGORY
(AS MANY AS NEEDED FOR EACH PROFILE)
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Chapter 4: Environmental Professional (EP) Certification
WHY DO WE NEED EP CERTIFICATION?
Professional certification can be found in almost every industry today: Finance (CMA), Project Management
(PMI), Supply Chain (SCMP), Information Technology (ITCP) and Engineering (PEng) are just a few of a
wide range of professions that have voluntary and/or mandatory certification.
In general terms, occupational standards and certification against those standards have been incorporated into
almost every industry for very good reasons. For example, for employers, hiring certified professionals may
represent a means of mitigating risk and reducing costs, by having efficient, competent, skilled professionals
with an independently verified baseline of competence in their field.
And (in the words of former Alberta Premier Ralph Klein) if Martha and Henry need an environmental
professional, as laypersons, they are not able to judge professional competency or who is even capable of
realizing a certain level of professional standards. They therefore can rely on employment standards such as
the NOS for Environmental Employment and the EP certification process to provide them with the kind of
professional they need.
In addition to the reasons above, Certification also provides the following:
� They advance professions and motivate employees to grow and sustain their competencies;
� They show commitment to the profession and help with job advancement and mobility;
� They help employers evaluate and analyze potential new hires and job performance; and
� They aid companies in mitigating risk in selecting contractors and service providers.
THE NATIONAL OCCUPATION STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION
As stated in the previous section, NOS form the basis for ECO Canada certification programs. Certification
was always the initial intention of development of the NOS—to use the NOS as the building blocks for
certification. Canada has stringent environmental regulations; however there are no particular regulations
required for environmental professionals. Voluntary certification for environmental professionals therefore,
helps ensure a high calibre of practitioners in the labour market who are recognized for their competency,
regardless of their location.
Environmental
Professional Certification
BENEFITS & REACH
GOVERNMENT
INDUSTRY
SCHOOLS & STUDENTS
PROFESSIONALS
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THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS:
In order to attain EP certification, the applicant is evaluated, relative to the NOS to ensure that they
possess the specific environmental competencies required in their fields of practice. The NOS provides a
rigorous, nationally validated benchmark of the skills, knowledge and experience relevant for practice
within the environment sector.
1. EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: First, the education and experience of the applicant must be
adequate. ECO looks for post secondary graduates with at least 5 years environmental experience.
2. CONFIRMATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: ECO Canada verifies the education
(using a company called Back Check) in order to verify that education claims made by applicants are
legitimate. Employment claims are checked randomly.
3. ASSESSMENT & VALIDATION:
a) SELF: The ability of the worker to perform the task self-sufficiently is first measured by the applicant in his
/ her Self-Assessment profile.
The applicant assesses themselves on their ability to perform the competency behaviours self-sufficiently.
These are essentially measurement issues but there are philosophical issues underlying the choice of
measurements. The applicant must then rate themselves as one of the following: 1) Non Applicable;
2)Learning; 3) (Requiring) Guidance; 4) Independent; or 5) Lead.
And the applicant must rate themselves as “lead” or “independent” on a minimum number of competencies
(>/ 60% of the competencies in that particular profile) in order to go forward.
b) The competencies that the applicant rated are shown to peers, nominated by the applicant, (with their
qualifications assessed on a case by case basis—but supervisors and relatives are not allowed). One peer must
validate 80% of those. 60% have to be validated by 2 peers with some adjustment (10 % window) allowed on
a case by case basis. Applicants may nominate up to 5 peers per specialization to achieve this threshold.
Opportunity for Enhanced Understanding: Peer Validation
In some cases applicants may be challenged to find peers qualified to provide an accurate validation of their
competencies (e.g., a self-employed individual who generally works alone or a field employee who is often isolated).
Problems with obtaining peer validations, or with obtaining peer validations which pass the applicant, are often
handled by allowing more peers or by allowing client validations if no peers have been able to observe the behaviour.
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4. PASS/FAIL CALCULATION: A Pass/Fail grade is calculated based on a formula which factors in the
TYPE of the competencies (1, 2 or 3), which are performed self-sufficiently, and an “H” factor (H =
homogeneity), which levels the playing
field between very broad or very
narrow profiles.
Ideally, the Pass/Fail cut off should
take into account the need to include as
least some amount of Type 1 or 2
competencies (all must do) in addition
to Type 3 (speciality). Applicants may
apply to specialize in up to 5
subsectors.
5. BOARD REVIEW & APPROVAL
– The Canadian Environmental Certification Approvals Board (CECAB) confirms and mandates the process
under which EP candidates are administered and assessed.
ACCOUNTABILITY FOR COMPETENT AND ETHICAL ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICE
Applicants that meet the prescribed standards and are approved by the CECAB Board must sign the CECAB
Code of Ethics. This Code of Ethics is an amalgamation of the core elements of the codes of ethics from a
variety of professional organizations. The declaration states that the practitioner agrees to uphold the highest
standards of competent and ethical environmental practice within their subsectors of specialization. The Code
of Ethics is supported through a transparent disciplinary process under the direction of the CECAB Ethics &
Disciplinary Committee.
COMMITMENT TO ON-GOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
In order to maintain EP certification, practitioners must maintain annual records of professional development
demonstrating that they have met a minimum annual requirement of professional development credits. These
credits can be earned through a combination of practice, formal and informal training, and contributions to
the industry. Every 5 years, EPs must demonstrate that they have sustained their competence through
professional development. On-going professional development ensures that the practitioner maintains their
competencies.
ACCESSIBLE AND SCALABLE CERTIFICATION
ECO Canada’s online system for EP certification is founded on the NOS for Environmental Employment,
ensuring rigor, scalability and cross-jurisdictional applicability. The certification system is scalable nationally,
providing streamlined access to the certification process from anywhere. By developing a program that is
national in scope, ECO Canada has ensured that all environmental professionals, regardless of their location,
can attain certification and thus, promotes a positive profile for certification in the labour market.
“H” FACTOR
The Homogeneity or “H” Factor used in 2015 is the same for
all subsectors. Ideally it should be different for each
subsector. This represents an issue for further examination.
(This is a flaw in the system – and could have challenging
implications for certain specializations.) Although there was
a recommendation from the NOS consultant to change the
multiplier—as the current H factor “waters down” the
multiplier, allowing for more easily attained PASS scores for
applicants—this recommendation was not incorporated
(likely due to human error) into the programming of the
system that performs the calculations.
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Because it is voluntary and not regulated it is accessible on a national and international scale. In fact, if there is
a movement towards regulating the professions, there could be a negative impact on employment accessibility
and the flexibility/mobility of the professional.
CHALLENGES:
Because each case for certification is different and this is a competency-based certification system using self-
assessment and peer validations, ECO Canada focuses on flexibility and making adjustments on a case-by-
case basis to determine certification being awarded. For example, occasionally, applicants who have been
working in a subsector for years and define themselves as very competent, fail the self-assessment. This
sometimes appears to result from the competency statement not being understood by the applicant as
intended by ECO Canada. So the certification team will sometimes adjust the self-assessment or allow the
applicant to repeat the self-assessment once only. However, this may undermine the rigour of the process. As
well, as noted on page 19, extraordinary efforts are sometimes made to find sufficient people to validate the
applicant. In summary, this continues to be is a major challenge to attaining rigour for voluntary certification
in an exceptionally broad sector.
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Chapter 5: A more dynamic approach to the future is needed
As environmental employment continues to develop and mature ECO Canada is transitioning to an on-going
process (Dynamic Assessment) for updating NOS for environmental employment in order to reflect the pace of
change within (and to be better reflective of) the industry.
FINE-TUNING: INTERNALLY TRIGGERED
Ongoing efforts to keep the NOS competencies dictionary current will be focused on the following:
� Continued analysis of pass/pail calculations and their applications
� Occasional small scale surveys with workers in sub-sections;
� Monitoring application rates within each profile (e.g. growing numbers of professionals identifying as
Site Assessment or Sustainability professionals; and
� Assessment of the “big picture” and the structure of the NOS and Certification program.
In particular, certain circumstances may trigger the assessments noted in the 4th bullet above. One trigger that
may manifest are conditions where internal staff members are more frequently identifying problems and
complexity in the system and efforts to attain better balance need to be adopted.
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW: EXTERNALLY TRIGGERED
External triggers for reviewing the ‘big picture’ would include changes in legislation or regulation as well as
technological developments and general industry maturation. The amount of effort required for this kind of
assessment is substantial. Actions would require substantial stakeholder consultation and would be costly in
terms of research required, staff resources needed and time. For these reasons, this type of review would only
be carried out only every 10-15 years at most.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
Further research required as it pertains to a review of the ECO NOS/EP framework should also include an
understanding of the views of those with EP certification versus those without certification. This assessment
goes to the EP application rate. Likewise, it will be important to understand the level of awareness of ECO
Canada and EP designation and the perceived value of both.
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Appendix A: TIMELINE
1992
ECO Canada (corporate)
CCHREI – Canadian Council for Human Resources in the Environment Industry created
1993-1994
Sector/Subsector Model
Publication of CCHREI Definition of Environmental Employment and Classification of Environmental
Occupations. This is the first Sector/Subsector model and divides environmental employment as below:
• Sector A – Environmental Protection (5 subsectors)
� Human and Environmental Health & Safety
� Air Quality Protection
� Water Quality Protection
� Land Quality Protection
� Integrated Management for Environmental Protection
• Sector B – Conservation and Preservation of Natural Resources (6 subsectors)
� Fisheries and Wildlife Management
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� Parks and Outdoor Recreation
� Forestry
� Agriculture
� Mining and Energy
� Integrated Natural Resource Management
• Sector C – Environmental Education, Communication and Research (4 subsectors)
� Environmental Education
� Environmental Communications
� Environmental Research
� Integrated Management for Environmental Education, Communications and
Research
These documents described in overview educational requirements, skills, aptitudes and functional areas
of environmental employment.
1994-1996
NOS
Development leading to 1996 publication of the Skill-Set documentation project, a detailed inventory of
skills required for environmental employment. This document was a forerunner to the NOS.
1997
NOS
Initial publication of 10 occupational standards for technicians and technologists. Areas addressed:
• Human and environmental health and safety
• Air, water and land quality protection (3 standards)
• Environmental research
• Fishery and wildlife
• Parks and Outdoor recreation
• Forestry
• Agriculture
• Mining and Energy
Certification
CECAB Approvals Board created
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1999
NOS
Developed NOS for university-level occupations,
• (same as for technicians and technologists) plus
• Integrated environmental management
• Integrated natural resources management
• Environmental education
• Environmental communications
2000 Certification First CCEP and CEPIT applications are approved (Canadian Certified Environmental Practitioner;
Canadian Environmental Practitioner-in-Training)
2002 - 2003
Sector/Subsector Model
Following extensive consultation and research conducted in 2002, the Sector/Subsector Model was
revised. The new model still retained the three-part Sector A, B and C breakdown, but 4 more
subsectors had been added, 2 were taken away and a few names were changed to reach the following,
Sector A: Environmental Protection
1. Air Quality
2. Water Quality
3. Land Quality
4. Waste Management 5. Restoration & Reclamation
6. Human & Environmental Health & Safety
7. Environmental Protection Management
Sector B: Conservation & Preservation
of Natural Resources
1. Fisheries & Wildlife
2. Forestry
3. Agriculture
4. Mining 5. Energy
6. Parks & Natural Reserves
7. Natural Resources Management
Sector C: Environmental Sustainability
1. Education
2. Research & Development 3. Policy & Legislation
4. Communications & Public Awareness
5. Sustainable Development Management
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• Sector A – Environmental Protection (7 subsectors)
� Human and Environmental Health & Safety
� Air Quality
� Water Quality
� Waste Management
� Restoration and Reclamation
� Land Quality
� Environmental Protection Management
• Sector B – Conservation and Preservation of Natural Resources (7 subsectors)
� Fisheries and Wildlife
� Parks and Natural Reserves
� Forestry
� Agriculture
� Mining
� Energy
� Natural Resource Management
• Sector C – Environmental Sustainability (5 subsectors)
� Education
� Research & Development
� Policy & Legislation
� Communications & Public Awareness
� Sustainable Development Management
NOS
Again following extensive consultation and research in 2002, 2003 saw a major overhaul of the NOS. The
major conceptual changes to the NOS in 2003 were,
• The number of competency statements was reduced from about 1,500 to about 300. This
was accomplished in several ways including,
• Removing context-specific references which allowed integration of multiple
statements. Example: Collect samples of flora for analysis by in-house or external
laboratory; Collect samples of flora for analysis by in-house or external laboratory.
Both these (and others) would have been combined into “Collect samples of flora”.
• Removing absolute duplicates. Before 2003, competencies which were duplicated
across subsectors were given a separate identity for each subsector, especially if
they were a different type within the subsectors. When absolute duplicated were
combined, it produced the current reality of competencies which are contained in
multiple profiles (the competencies can be different types within subsectors).
• Researching “chunk-size” so that competencies were adjusted for approximately
equal scope and complexity
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• Even though the total number of competency statements was reduced, steps were taken to
ensure that new developments in environmental employment were captured and accounted
for
• Significantly re-organized the competency statements from their then-division into main
groups and clusters of competencies into what became known as “functions” and “clusters”.
• Eliminated knowledge statements from the NOS (Background. At the time, documents
listing “general knowledge” (broadly applicable to successful performance in most
workplaces) and “specialized knowledge” (more applicable to subsector tasks) had been
created. Because NOS are based on competencies and competencies are based on KSA –
knowledge, skills and attributes – the “K” component – the elements of “general
knowledge” and “specialized knowledge” – were informative but not essential. Further it
was believed that the competencies based on KSAs were sufficient for academic institutions
to develop programs and curricula, implying that they also did not need separate knowledge
statements to guide them. Partly because the knowledge statements were redundant with
full competencies to a degree, and partly because including them in the NOS for certification
increased the complexity of the application process, knowledge-based statements were
removed from the NOS).
• Added “enabling” competencies and organized into clusters. These are often referred to as
“soft” skills and constitute good business practice. They were non-assessed for certification
but provided as information. (Joanne – check if you have this correct. Are these what are
now called “transferable” competencies?).
• A uniform set of performance levels was developed for university-level practitioners in all
subsectors, and for technician/technologist practitioners in subsectors where requirements
for them differed significantly from the university-level practitioners.
• Revisions were made to the certification process, not detailed here.
2004
Certification
ECO Canada assumes administration and management of auditor certification, thereby offering the CEA
(Certified Environmental Auditor).
2005
ECO Corporate
CCHREI name changed to ECO (Environmental Careers Organization) Canada.
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NOS
The National Occupation Guidelines were published for Canadian Water and Wastewater Operators.
However, the guidelines persist but were never adopted as “national occupational standards”.
Certification
First CEA (audit) is certified by CECAB
2008
NOS
Publication of new NOS for specific BEAHR training areas, used to inform the BEAHR training
programs for aboriginal peoples. The topic areas are,
• Land use planning
• Environmental Management
• Solid Waste coordinators
• Contaminated sites remediation coordinators
• Environmental site assessment assistants
• Environmental Monitors – research specialization
• Environmental monitors – regulatory specialization
• Environmental monitors – core NOS
The BEAHR NOS are guidelines only, and are not used as a basis for certification.
2009
Certification
ECO Canada launches Greenhouse Gas (GHG) certification, thereby offering the EP (GHG)
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2010
Sector/Subsector Model
A consultative project spanning 2009 and 2010 changed the Sector/Subsector model again as below,
• Sector A – Environmental Protection (5 subsectors)
� Air Quality
� Water Quality
� Site Assessment & Reclamation
� Waste Management
� Health & Safety
• Sector B – Conservation and Preservation of Natural Resources (3 subsectors)
� Energy
� Fisheries and Wildlife
� Natural Resource Management
• Sector C – Environmental Sustainability (4 subsectors)
� Education & Training
� Research & Development
� Policy and Legislation
� Communications & Public Awareness
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NOS
• The NOS were reviewed; a few statements were modified and some new statements added to
keep up with changes to environmental work.
• The “Environmental Manager” was placed at the intersection of the Sectors A, B and C. The
motivation was to account for a role defined as environmental professionals who provide
leadership, accountability and direction in the environmental fields of their organizations and/or
to organizations for which they provide environmental services. They play a role in the hierarchy
of the system, often providing guidance to the environmental practitioner. Their experience
builds on a baseline of environmental technical expertise or knowledge, and generally
progresses to a management level over time. Therefore, they likely do not belong to a specific
“subsector but do present a unique profile. For that reason, a specialization was developed for
them which sits outside any one subsector.
• Relabelled “functions” and “clusters” as “categories” and “subcategories”
Certification
Various changes were made to the certification math formulae, not addressed in detail here.
The name CCEP and CEPIT were changed to EP and EP(t) (Environmental Professional and Environmental
Professional in Training).
The distinction between the University Level (UL) and Technician/Technologist (TT) certifications was
removed. The reason was essentially that, in reality, university graduates and graduates from
technician/technologist programs eventually end up performing the same duties and functions on the
job. Based on good evidence, the distinction between the two levels of certification was creating
artificial lines that did not match the circumstance. ECO therefore made the decision to eliminate the
UL/TT distinction and provide only one single certification per subsector specialization.
2011
Certification
P. Met (meteorology certification) first offered, for meteorologists and meteorological technicians.
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2013
NOS
“Sustainability” was added to Sector C as a new subsector.
Certification
EP Sustainability specialization added
Energy specialization, which had always included competencies in traditional (extractive) energy was
expanded to include renewable energy sources as well
2014 Greenhouse Gas and Meteorology specializations no longer offered. Existing greenhouse gas or
meteorology specialists were allowed to maintain their certification until the end of their term, or to
seek alternative certification as an EP specializing in Air Quality.
2015
TBD
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Appendix B: GLOSSARY
This glossary of terms provides definitions for words and abbreviations commonly used within
ECO Canada. The following are provided in the context of this paper and ECO Canada’s mandate:
Accreditation
Accreditation is a quality assurance process to ensure that services and operations offered by an educational program meet national standards as evaluated by an external body. If these standards are met, accredited status is granted to the qualified program.
ECO Canada has developed a national environmental program accreditation system in collaboration with educators, accreditation professionals and industry. This accreditation demonstrates to students, parents, educators and industry that environmental programs have met and are committed to upholding a national standard.
Certification
Professional certification is official recognition from an accrediting authority that an individual has achieved a specified
level of knowledge, skills, and/or abilities, in addition to meeting a set of pre-established standards, a set of established
criteria, or fulfillment of a legal requirement.
ECO Canada has developed the Environmental Professional (EP) designation which provides assurance that an
environmental worker meets a certain standard for education, experience and professional competence in a particular
field.
Competency
A competency is a grouping of related behaviours originating from the application of one’s knowledge, skills and attributes* to the task at hand. Competencies are consistently demonstrated behaviours a professional carries out in order to achieve a desired result. (ECO’s National Occupational Standards (NOS) are comprised of 320 competencies.)
Technical Competencies: These are proficiencies required by a person in a specific a profession (e.g. …).
Transferable Competencies: The “soft” skills that facilitate behaviour in any workplace (e.g.“team player”). These are not used as a means of assessing a professional, but rather, help round out the overall description of the profession.
Knowledge and Skills and Attributes: Those qualities possessed by the environmental professional which, when used, demonstrate professional competence. Although sometimes used interchangeably, ECO Canada does not consider these terms to be synonymous.
Discipline-specific standards
Occupational standards typically specify the proficiency requirements of a single, well-defined occupation (e.g. doctors, lawyers, engineers). These standards are specific enough to cover the range of the work typically associated with an occupation but general enough to be applicable across several industries.
Environmental workers are found in many industries and the nature of their duties may differ considerably. ECO Canada developed discipline-specific standards to identify all environment-related competencies required by practitioners with different academic backgrounds and to identify and include those that may be unique to certain professions.
Discipline-plus(+)
According to ECO Canada's research, environmental occupations are 1) usually founded on education and training in a specific discipline (e.g., chemistry, biology, geology, engineering); 2) substantiated by multi-disciplinary competencies that are specific to environmental work; and 3) further developed with experience and/or further professional training.
Because environmental competencies require both education and on-the-job experience, they are called discipline-plus competencies. This is important because the credibility of the ECO Canada framework for evaluating and certifying environmental professionals is based on discipline-plus concepts – that professional competence extends beyond academic education to practical and applied knowledge.
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Environment
In terms of ECO Canada’s mandate, the word environment is defined in terms of the physical environment—that is—the air, land and water. It refers to the natural world, as a whole or in a particular geographical area, especially as affected by human activity.
Environment Sector
In economic terms, a Sector is typically described as grouping of similar commodity or service-based industries. (E.g. the Mining Sector could consist of the coal, potash, gold and other industries.) The Environment Sector however is an ‘employment-based’ sector consisting of people who impact, evaluate, study or monitor the environment (or certain elements of it) as part of their job, regardless of industry. By defining the Environment Sector this way, ECO Canada is able to assess environmental employment statistics, trends and employment competency requirements in a manner that is inclusive of as many environmental workers as possible.
Green Economy
The Green Economy relates to goods and services that have emerged as an opportunity to address environmental, economic and social concerns. The popular perception of the Green Economy involves six key components:
- Economic prosperity based on sustainable development
- New technologies, industries and areas of growth
- Valuing natural capital assets
- Minimizing harmful environmental impacts and increasing efficiency
- Creating lasting social and ethical benefits
- Increased environmental awareness and the adoption of an environmentally responsible lifestyle
Labour Market Information (LMI)
Labour Market Information consists of comprehensive qualitative and quantitative information used to guide environmental stakeholders in recognizing employment trends, understanding human resource needs, meeting future challenges and responding to emerging opportunities as it pertains to the environment sector.
National Occupations Classification (NOC)
National Occupational Classification is a systematic taxonomy in English of all occupations in the Canadian labour market. It is a Canadian government publication (concurrently published in French as Classification nationale des professions) organized into two volumes, describing 923 distinct occupations in terms of aptitudes, interests, education, physical activities and other qualifiers. A separate index further classifies over 25,000 job titles from the listed occupations.9
National Occupational Standards (NOS)
Standards are physical models or written descriptions of characteristics which are deemed to be important by users of products, processes or services. They serve as the benchmarks against which these products, processes or services are compared and measured. Occupational Standards are competencies required to perform successfully in a particular occupation. They are a set of statements describing the standard acceptable skills, knowledge and attributes required by a professional. NOS are considered the benchmarks against which people of a particular profession measure their level of performance and competency.
In Canada, National Occupational Standards are developed with a national objective to address human resource challenges facing the economy. They require pan-Canadian validation and endorsement to enable recognition of these qualifications across Canada.
9 Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (2012). "Welcome to the National Occupational Classification 2011" (in English, French).
Retrieved 2015-04-20.
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National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Environmental Employment
ECO Canada's National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Environmental Employment are occupational standards that are tailored specifically to the Canadian environmental sector. They provide a description of the competencies, knowledge, skills and attributes required by experienced practitioners employed as environmental professionals/workers.
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)10
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is an industry classification system developed by the statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States. Created against the background of the North American Free Trade Agreement, it is designed to provide common definitions of the industrial structure of the three countries and a common statistical framework to facilitate the analysis of the three economies. NAICS is based on supply-side or production-oriented principles, to ensure that industrial data, classified to NAICS, are suitable for the analysis of production-related issues such as industrial performance.
10 Statistics Canada (2012). http://www.statcan.gc.ca/subjects-sujets/standard-norme/naics-scian/2012/introduction-eng.htm Retrieved 2015-
06-01.
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Appendix C: STRUCTURE OF THE NOS DICTIONARY & APPLICATIONS
Competency Dictionaries & Profiles
A Competency Dictionary is quite simply an inventory of all of the different competency statements
existing for a related group of specializations and can be split into several different Competency Profiles.
There is one Competency Profile for every related area of environmental specialization and each one is a
unique combination of dictionary statements relevant to those working in that area. Although the
statements may overlap, each profile is unique to the specialization it describes.
NOS Dictionaries
Environmental Employment
Air Quality
Water Quality
Site Assessment & Reclamation
Waste Management
Health & Safety
Energy
Fisheries & Wlidlife
Natural Resource Management
Education & Training
Sustainability
Research & Development
Policy & Legislation
Communications & Public Awareness
Environmental Manager
Greenhouse Gas
GHG Quantifier: Inventory
GHG Quantifier: Project Lead
GHG Verifier: Audit Expert
GHG Verifier: Team Lead
Auditing
Auditor
Auditing Team Lead
Meteorology
Applied Met
Operational Met
Research Met
Met Technician: Inspector
Operational Met Technician
Water & Waste Water
Operators
Treatment
Collection
Distribution
BEAHR
Contaminated Sites Remediation
Environmental Management
Environmental Monitoring
Site Assessment Assistants
Land Use Planning
Solid Waste Coordinators
Certification (Existing)
Accreditation
Training
Ap
pli
cati
on
s P
rofi
les
Dic
tio
na
ry
Certification (Phased out 2014) Guidelines Only
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The NOS for Environmental Employment
The main Competency Dictionary used by ECO Canada is the NOS for Environmental Employment (NOS
for EE), which forms the core basis for EP Certification, discussed at length in this report. The NOS for EE
Dictionary lends itself to a wide range of environmental specializations since the skill sets needed to
perform the work relevant to these specializations are homogeneous enough to be housed under one
umbrella NOS yet heterogeneous enough that they require their own unique competency profile.
NOS for Specific Environmental Occupations
Some environmental occupations, however, are different enough to warrant a unique NOS Dictionary
and there are in fact several that exist alongside the NOS for EE. They include: 1) NOS for Greenhouse
Gas, 2) NOS for Environmental Auditing, 3) NOS for Meteorology and 4) NOS for Water & Waste Water
Operators.
BEAHR NOS for Canadian Aboriginals
ECO Canada has also produced NOS that are specific to Aboriginal Environmental Workers – these
belong to the BEAHR Training Program (Building Environmental Aboriginal Human Resources). The
BEAHR NOS are unique from the rest as they take into account culturally relevant information specific to
Canadian First Nations, Inuit and Metis.
Applications of the NOS
The NOS are applied in many different ways:
• As a foundation for certification;
• As a self-assessment/recruitment tool for professionals and employers;
• As curriculum development guidelines for educators;
• As a career planning tool for students; and
• They provide a structural framework to produce accurate and relevant labour market
information.
For ECO Canada, the most important applications of the NOS have been for the certification of
environmental professional and for accreditation of post-secondary environmental programs:
Certification
Since 2014, all designations offered by ECO Canada are given under the title EP – this, however, has
not always been so and it is worth a short discussion of how some occupationally-specific NOS have
given basis for a variety of other titles offered through our organization.
The NOS for Environmental Employment: EP and EP(t) – From 1999 to present
It has been discussed in detail elsewhere in this report how the NOS for EE makes up the basis for the EP
Certification program offered through ECO Canada but a short mention of its evolution is provided here:
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Prior to 2010, these designations were referred to as CCEP (Certified Canadian Environmental
Professional) and CEPIT (Certified Environmental Professional in Training) and two levels of certification
were awarded: university level practitioner and technician/technologist. In 2010, the titles changed to
EP (Environmental Professional) and EPt (Environmental Professional-in-training).
The NOS for Environmental Auditors: EP (CEA) and EP (EMSA) – From 2004 to present
Prior to 2010, designations belonging to environmental auditing had 3 distinct titles: CEA (Compliance
Environmental Auditor), EMS(A) (Environmental Management Systems Auditor), and EMS(LA)
(Environmental Management Systems Lead Auditor). After 2010, the EMS(A) title was folded into
EMS(LA) so that only CEA and EMSLA remained. These remaining titles were then brought under the EP
label to become EP(CEA) and EP(EMSLA).
Compliance Environmental Auditor – developed in accordance with national and international
standards, with special emphasis on auditing activities described in CSA Z773 and ISO 19011.
Environmental Management Systems Lead Auditor - : Intended for auditors who are involved with
auditing organizations against the ISO 14001 standard. Certified individuals will have demonstrated their
competence to be a contributing member of an EMS audit team, to lead an EMS audit team or to
conduct audits by themselves.
The designations under this category were developed in partnership with the Auditing Association of
Canada (ACC).
In order to become an EP (CEA); EP (EMSLA), the following criteria must have been satisfied:
• Education – relevant post-secondary education; completion of 2 or 3 year college diploma from a
recognized Canadian or international college/CEGEP, or a f-year university degree from a Canadian
or international university;
• Experience – Applicants must have a total of 5 years of relevant work experience;
• Audit Logs – submission of 7 previously completed audits over the past 3 years; submission of EMS
or compliance audit logs; and
• Formal Training – minimum of 35 hours formal training by the applicants’ own organization or by an
external organization.
The NOS for Greenhouse Gas: EP (GHG) and EPt (GHG) – 2009 to 2014
The NOS for GHG was created in consultation with the Canadian Standards Agency (CSA). The resulting
certification operated in partnership with the GHG Management Institute (GHGMI).
GHG Quantification: Professionals in this area quantify and report emissions and emission reductions
that result from the activities of organizations, entities, facilities or GHG emissions reduction projects.
The work can be categorized into two domains – Inventory Quantification and Project Quantification.
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GHG Verification: These professionals act as the independent party which evaluates how a GHG
inventory or project has been established and/or reported against program criteria and/or a specific
protocol that stated expectations of greenhouse gas accounting principles. Their work is categories into
3 major domains: Quantification expert, Auditing Expert and Team Lead.
In order to become an EP (GHG), the following criteria must have been satisfied:
• Education – a Canadian (or assessed equivalent) university degree in a relevant field, or equivalent.
Equivalence could be: a) college diploma plus 7 years work experience or b) university degree in a
non-relevant field plus 7 years work experience.
• Experience – Must possess a minimum of 5 years work experience in a relevant field.
• Work Logs – submission of relevant GHG work logs;
• Formal Training – training not required, but can be used in lieu of 2 work logs; and
• Knowledge examination – passing grade.
In 2014, it was decided that the EP(GHG) designation was no longer a feasible venture for ECO Canada.
The GHG standards and designation were created in anticipation of regulatory frameworks and market
drivers that would rely on qualified GHG verifiers and quantifiers. Since its inception, these drivers had
not materialized and in some jurisdictions, signoff has been assigned to other regulated professions.
Existing members were allowed to maintain their status until the end of their certification term at no
charge or to seek alternative certification as an EP, specializing in Air Quality.
The NOS for Meteorology: P. Met – 2011 to 2014
This title was created in partnership with the MSC (Meteorological Service of Canada), CMOS (Canadian
Meteorological and Oceanographic Society) and the Weather Network. Due to lack of interest, the P.
Met certification was folded into EP and is no longer offered as a stand-alone designation.
Applied meteorology - professionals in this area are those who take meteorological forecasts or other
meteorological products and apply those to specific situations; this area includes fields of expertise such
as consulting, education & training and management;
Operational meteorology - professionals in this area primarily focus on developing meteorological
forecast products and include forecasters and broadcasters; and
Meteorological Research - given the unique nature of their skills, researchers apply to this separate area
of expertise.
In order to become a ‘Professional Meteorologist’, the following criteria must have been satisfied:
• Education – a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from a recognized Canadian university or a
bachelor’s degree in a related science from a recognized Canadian university plus additional studies
consistent with a Canadian university diploma in meteorology, or an assessed equivalent foreign
credential;
• Experience –5-years relevant work experience; and
• Ethics Examination – passing grade.
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It is worth noting that a study on the feasibility of implementing a P. Met-in-training title was done
shortly after the launch of P. Met. It was decided that this option would not in fact be feasible and it was
never implemented.
In 2014, it was decided that the P. Met designation was also no longer feasible as there was waning
support from stakeholders and limited market drivers. Meteorologists also tend not to perceive
themselves as environmental professionals so they fell outside of ECO Canada’s mandate and marketing
activities. Existing members were allowed to maintain their status until the end of their certification
term at no charge or to seek alternative certification as an EP, specializing in Air Quality.
Accreditation
The National Environmental Program Accreditation (NEPA) process ensures a high level of relevance and
currency for post-secondary environmental programs. This is partly because it is based on the NOS for
Environmental Employment. An institution that applies to become accredited by ECO Canada must
demonstrate how its curricula are tied to the NOS. This helps to ensure that environmental programs
have relevant linkages to the competencies required by environmental employers in Canada. In 2013,
management of NEPA was contracted externally to a company that specializes in that area.
The following is a list of programs accredited by ECO Canada in 2015:
University of Manitoba
Keyano College
University of Winnipeg
University of Ottawa
Acadia University
Carleton University
CEGEP de Saint Felicien
Centennial College
Fleming College
King's University College
Lakeland College
Lakehead University
Niagara College
Nova Scotia Community College
Royal Roads University
SAIT, Polytechnic
Trent University
University of Toronto
Vanier College
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Appendix D: CALCULATION OF PASS/FAIL FOR EP APPLICATIONS (detail)
Formula currently in use to determine if an applicant passes or fails the Self-Assessment11
Overview
Self-Assessment is the process through which an applicant for EP certification assesses his/her level of
proficiency against a predefined subset of NOS competencies. The set of predefined competencies is
dependent upon the selected specializations (subsectors). Applicants write one self-assessment per
specialization and can select up to 5 specializations. Specialization is the term used by Certification to
refer to the environmental subsectors. Applicants are expected to be proficient in most, but not all, of
the competencies of a specialization. Because of that, the current formula for certification factors in four
components:
1. That there is a wide spectrum of occupations and work within a specialization. Specializations
are a family of somewhat similar jobs within an area of environmental employment. Because of
the breadth of employers, jobs and responsibilities in environmental employment, each
subsector profile covers a fairly wide spectrum of occupations and work. As a result, it is not
reasonable to expect that practitioners should have a high level of competence in all the
competencies in a specialization profile. The term ‘homogeneous factor’ is used to numerically
describe the degree of similarity within jobs in a subsector. Currently, the homogeneous factor
has the value of 0.6, meaning that applicants are expected to be proficient (pass) in at least 60%
of the competencies in each specialization.
2. That applicants must show a high level of maturity in at least 60% of the competencies of a
specialization, as they continue to gain mastery of their role12. Basically, applicants are expected
to be experienced (see below) and able to perform the competencies, even if they lack the
confidence or the willingness to take on responsibility. For that, competencies are rated using a
5 point scale that is an adaptation of the Situational Leadership model3:
a. 1- No Experience.
b. 2- Learning. Applicants at this stage lack the specific skills required to independently
perform the competencies rated at this level and require their manager to provide the
what, how, why, when and where to do the task.
c. 3- Guidance. Applicants are still unable to take on responsibility for the competencies
rated at this level. Hence, managers still provide direction, using two-way
communication and providing the socio-emotional support that will allow the individual
to buy into the process.
d. 4- Independent. Applicants are experienced and able to perform the competencies
rated at this level. They share with their managers the decision-making aspects of how
the competencies are accomplished. However, applicants may lack the confidence or
willingness to take on responsibility.
11 As of June 11, 2015. 12 If certified, applicants are expected to keep evolving in their role through professional development (PD) activities. Track of
the PD must be submitted to ECO Canada.
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e. 5- Expert. Applicants are experienced at performing competencies rated at this level and
are also comfortable with their own ability to do it well. They are able and willing to
perform the competencies and to take responsibility for them (regardless of their
seniority level in their jobs).
High level of maturity is shown in competencies that are rated at an ‘independent’ or ‘expert’
level.
3. That some competencies are more essential for a specialization profile than others. From the
point of view of a specialization (as a family of similar jobs within an area of environmental
employment), some competencies are critical for the success of most workers (Type 1), others
are necessary because they contribute to the success of most workers (Type 2), and others are
essential for a specialized set of workers (Type 3). The certification formulas address account for
those differences by giving different weights to the different types of competencies.
4. Applicants must show that they have recent experience in the competencies in which they have
a high level of maturity. This means that they must have at least one year of experience within
the last five years in those competencies.
These factors translate in the measurement of 2 metrics, the Competency Count and the Average Rate:
• Competency Count (CC). Is the number of competencies that are rated at ‘independent’ or
‘expert’ levels. Hence, requiring that applicants must show a high level of maturity in at least
60% of the competencies of a specialization translates in having a CC greater than or equal to
60%.
• Average Rate (AR). This is a measure that combines the proficiency level of a competency and its
importance for the specialization as a whole (competencies are ranked in three different types,
according to their importance, as can be seen below). Applicants are expected to have an AR
that is greater than or equal to 45% (which would allow applicants to pass by achieving at least
60% on the maturity level in at least 75% of the competencies13; however, other combinations
would obtain the same result) of the theoretically possible maximum rate.
Applicants who satisfy the CC and the AR requirements pass the self-assessment process. Passed
applications go into the Peer Validation process. The following flowchart summarizes the process.
13 The contractor who developed the formulas for certification considered that applicants should show proficiency in 75% of
the competencies of a profile. As it was proposed, proficiency would have been measured using a 4-point scale, with the
highest 2 ranks (assuming the values of 3 and 4) representing passing grades. Hence, the contractor proposed an AR greater
than or equal to 56.25% (= 75% * 75%), which would have been achieved by applicants having a maturity level of 3 (75% of 4) in
at least 75% of the competencies.
Due to programming considerations, when the criteria were implemented by ECO, the proficiency scale was changed into a 5-
point scale. In the new scale, 75% of the maximum possible rank does not scale down into a whole number within the scale:
75% of 5 is 3.75. ECO decided to adopt 0.6 as scaling factor, as 60% of 5 is 3, the original minimum value proposed by the
contractor as passing grade. This new factor (0.6), however, did not consider that 3 is a failing grade under the new 5-point
scale (3 representing ‘guidance’ level). Indeed, for the new 5-point scale, 0.8 would have had the same mathematical
implications as 0.75 had for the contractor’s proposed 4-point scale.
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Formula for Certification
ECO Canada assesses applicants for certification against the NOS using two different formulas, one for
the Competency Count and one for the Average Rate. Those two formulas have associated criteria to
decide whether or not an applicant passes. Applicants must pass both criteria to pass the Self
Assessment. Mathematically, the formulas can be expressed as,
�� =#�������� � ���� ��������′ ���������′���′
#�������� � ���� �
�� =
∑ ��� �� ∗ ���� � ��� ∗ ��������� !"#$#%&'#('%") *'+#
∑ 5 ∗ -�� !"#$#%&'#('%") *'+#
Where,
Experience = 1 If the competency was performed for at least one year within the previous five.
0 Otherwise.
Proficiency = 1 If the competency is ranked as ‘no experience’.
2 If the competency is ranked as ‘learning’.
3 If the competency is ranked as ‘guidance’.
4 If the competency is ranked as ‘independent’.
5 If the competency is ranked as ‘expert’.
Importance = 3 If the competency is Type 1.
2.5 If the competency is Type 2.
2 If the competency is Type 3.
And the criteria for passing the Self-Assessment is:
• Criterion 1 – CC must be greater than or equal to 60% (0.6).
• Criterion 2 – AR must be greater than or equal to 45% (0.45)14.
If both criteria are satisfied, the applicant passes the Self-Assessment. Otherwise, the applicant fails the
Self-Assessment15.
14 Which represents having at least 60% on the maturity level in at least 75% of the competencies. See also 13.
15 Policies have been implemented to allow applicants to revise their responses, and/or to bypass the self-assessment process if
applicants are deemed to be knowledgeable enough but unable to satisfy either of the two criteria.
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Appendix E: How ECO Canada measures environmental employment
in relation to NOS, NOC and NAICS
The purpose of this Appendix is to outline the measurement framework that ECO Canada uses to
gather Labour Market Information (LMI) for Environmental Employment.
Defining key terms used to generate traditional Labour Market Information – NOC and NAICS
NOC: The National Occupational Classification (NOC) provides a standardized language for
describing the work performed by Canadians in the labour market and is used by Statistics
Canada in all major surveys. NOC groups are formed based on occupations. An occupation is
defined as a collection of jobs, sufficiently similar in work performed to be grouped under a
common label for classification purposes. The NOC classifies occupations with a four-digit code
according to (1) skill type and (2) skill level. Skill type is based on the type of work performed,
but it also reflects the field of training or experience that is normally required for entry into an
occupation. The first digit of the NOC code identifies the skill type of an occupation. Skill level –
represented by the second digit of the NOC code – corresponds to the type and/or amount of
training or education typically required to work in an occupation.
NAICS: The North American Industry Classification divides the economy into twenty sectors.
Industries within these sectors are grouped according to the production criterion. Four sectors
within the NAICS are largely goods-producing and sixteen are entirely services-producing
industries.
Getting Traditional Labour Market Data
Labour market data on industries and occupations are often reported within a classification
system or framework using NAICS and NOC. The framework serves to both standardize and
organize data to make it consistent, comprehensive and comparable. Through Statistics Canada
Labour Force Survey, the following table can be populated:
NOC
NAICS
NOS (EE) & EP Certification Framework
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45
Here is how the framework of NOC and NAICS is used in the Mining sector to estimate
employment. Mining has one dedicated NAICS (212) and 21 occupations (NOCs) which accounts
for Employment in the Mining sector.
NOC
NAICS
212 Mining
and quarrying
(except oil
and gas)
%
All occupations 70780 100%
8231 Underground production and development miners 8930 13%
7521 Heavy equipment operators (except crane) 6485 9%
8221 Supervisors, mining and quarrying 4160 6%
7311 Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics 3640 5%
7312 Heavy-duty equipment mechanics 3095 4%
7511 Transport truck drivers 2885 4%
7242 Industrial electricians 2070 3%
0811 Managers in natural resources production and fishing 2050 3%
8614 Mine labourers 2025 3%
2212 Geological and mineral technologists and technicians 1865 3%
7237 Welders and related machine operators 1680 2.40%
2143 Mining engineers 1515 2.10%
7452 Material handlers 1210 1.70%
2113 Geoscientists and oceanographers 1155 1.60%
8411 Underground mine service and support workers 1045 1.50%
1111 Financial auditors and accountants 955 1.30%
9231 Central control and process operators, mineral and metal processing 880 1.20%
9411 Machine operators, mineral and metal processing 790 1.10%
7611 Construction trades helpers and labourers 740 1.00%
0016 Senior managers - construction, transportation, production and utilities 730 1.00%
7316 Machine fitters 680 1.00%
NOS (EE) & EP Certification Framework
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When it comes to Environmental Employment, this traditional framework of NAICS and NOC
does NOT work for collecting LABOUR MARKET INFORMATION.
It is very difficult to identify an Environmental Professional based on the traditional classification
system of NAICS and NOC. The following example will help explain this further:
Let’s take the example of Jack, an Energy Auditor who works at Solar Ontario (NAICS 221 –
Utilities NAICS). Jack is a Civil Engineer (NOC 2131). Dan, an Engineering Manager who is also a
Civil Engineer by profession (NOC 2131) works at Pacific Gas and Electric Company (NAICS 221).
Both Jack and Dan belong to the same NOC –NAICS cell. But Jack is an Environmental
Professional and Dan is NOT– based on what they do / tasks they perform at their job– NOT on
the NAICS industry or NOC occupation within which they work.
Jack
Dan
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So we need a THIRD COMPONENT to differentiate Environmental Professionals from Non-
Environmental Professionals.
Before we introduce the third component of the classification system – let’s answer in details
the two questions about why Environmental work cannot be directly mapped to NOC
Occupation groups and NAICS industry.
** Environmental tasks are classified broadly into three clusters – Environmental Protection, Natural Resource Management and
Environmental Sustainability – refer next page for details
Q1. Why can’t Environmental work be directly mapped to NOC occupation groups?
The core skills needed by Environmental Professionals depend on the competencies and skills they learn and
perform on the job. Often a specified field of training is NOT required to work in an environmental occupation.
Let’s take the example of an Engineer - Civil engineer – (NOC 2131), Chemical engineer – (NOC 2134) or other
professional engineers (NOC 2148) – a few of these Engineers will be performing Environmental tasks** like Site
Assessment, Air quality monitoring etc. and hence are Environmental Professionals. Other Engineers belonging to the
same NOC will be performing tasks that are not related to Environmental Protection, Natural Resource Management
or Sustainability – for example designing a Bridge. So based on NOC alone, we cannot differentiate Environmental
Professionals from Non Environmental Professionals.
It is very difficult to map a single NOC code solely to Environmental Employment. (No one to one mapping – many
to one mapping)
Q2. Why can’t Environmental Employment be directly mapped directly to NAICS?
Environmental Employment is cross sectoral - it does not have one major NAICS – it is spread across several NAICS.
NAICS as pointed out earlier are output based whereas Environmental Employment mainly depends on the type of
tasks professional performs in a job. Trying to map the two leads to the following three scenarios and hence one to
one mapping of Environmental Employment to a NAICS is not possible:
Scenario 1: Some workers are employed in environmental occupations (where they need to perform tasks that classify
them as Environmental workers) and employed in the industry which produces Environmental goods and services (e.g.
a design engineer applying energy efficiency competencies to a green building design).
Scenario 2: Other environmental occupations are individual contributors in a business that does not primarily produce
environmental goods and services (e.g. an environmental health and safety professional at an oil sands site).
Scenario 3: There is also some employment linked to the environmental goods and services sector that has no
environmental employment. An example is the provision of machined parts used a project such as a water treatment
plant. The goods serve an environmental purpose but the machinists making the parts don’t have environmental skills
requirements and therefore are not counted in environmental employment
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Introducing the THIRD CLASSIFICATION system to better understand Environmental
Employment – ECO Canada’s National Occupational Standards (NOS)
Based on the unique nature of Environmental Employment, ECO Canada came up with a
definitional framework for Environmental Employment based on National Occupational
Standards (NOS).
Now let’s go back to Jack who is an Energy Auditor who works at Solar Ontario (NAICS 221 –
Utilities NAICS). He is a Civil Engineer (NOC 2131). Classifying him according to the ECO Canada
definition – he would be in the Subsector Energy who uses a group of ECO Canada NOS
competencies (NOS 711 – 721) to perform his job. A few examples of the NOS competencies he
uses are:
• Understands concepts related to generation, transport, installation, operation, and maintenance
of technologies and related equipment used to produce energy
• Advices in the development of energy management strategies on renewable energy use,
reduction of GHG emissions or improving energy efficiency.
• Assess economic feasibility of products and technologies aimed at reducing energy demand and
use and/or improving energy efficiency
• Identifies targets, best practices and objectives to reduce energy demand or use and/or improve
energy efficiency
ECO Canada’s 330 NOS competencies group related behaviors originating from the application of an individual’s
knowledge, skills and attributes. Competencies are presented as demonstrated behaviors which are specifically
designed to illustrate what a professional must consistently do to produce positive results, even when under
pressure.
Based on a different combinations of 330 NOS – ECO Canada classifies the Environmental Sector into three major
clusters based on the tasks performed – Environmental Protection, Natural Resource Management and
Environmental Sustainability. These three broad clusters are further subdivided into fourteen subsectors (refer
ECO Canada’s subsector model).
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How to link ECO Canada’s definitional framework (subsectors and NOS) to NAICS and NOC –
the traditional LMI definitional framework?
How is ECO Canada Subsectors linked to NAICS?
Each subsector (Air Quality, Water Quality, Energy) in the ECO Canada model is spread across
various NAICS. Based on years of primary research ECO Canada has identified the 33, 3 digit
NAICS out of 97 3-digit NAICS where Environmental Employment is primarily concentrated.
What is the ongoing source of this NAICS – subsector data?
ECO Canada’s primary survey with Environmental Employers gives number of Environmental
Employees and Professionals by NAICS and ECO Canada subsectors as reported by
Environmental Employers.
How is ECO Canada Subsectors linked to NOC?
In 2012 ECO Canada started using the Job Scraping methodology for estimating the size of the
Core environmental workers in Canada and mapping them to the 140 3 digit NOC code. Almost
75% to 80% of the Environmental jobs posted could be linked to a NOC. Environmental
Employment was spread across all the 140 3-digit NOCs. 100 % of these Environmental jobs
could be linked to the ECO Canada subsectors and competencies (NOS).
What is the ongoing source of this NOC – subsector data?
The Job Scraping database will be the continuous source of this data. ECO Canada will continue
doing Job Posting Analysis on a regular basis.
The NOC (National Occupational Classification)-NOS (ECO Canada National Occupational
Standards) mapping through Job Posting Analysis (JPA) will help ECO Canada link NOC
employment (language of the industry which employers identify with) to the ECO Canada
subsectors.
The JPA can also be expanded to link the 140 NOC to the 330 competencies. JPA can also be
expanded to report at the 4 digit NOC level.
However, JPA cannot link the ECO Canada subsectors to the NAICS because as explained earlier
people needing Environmental skills (as posted in the job ads) don’t necessarily work for
Environmental Goods and Services producing industries and vice versa.
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Measuring Framework for Environmental Employment
Based on the previous section – Environmental Employment can be measured by populating
various crosstabs of the following parameters:
What is the ideal scenario for measuring Environmental Employment?
As mentioned previously, Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey gives us the NOC-NAICS
crosstab.
In an ideal world if there were no budget or feasibility constraints – ECO Canada Environmental
Labour Market surveys would attempt to do primary surveys to estimate the percentage of
Environmental Employment in terms of ECO Canada subsectors (Air Quality, Water Quality) and
competencies (NOS) for each of the NOC – NAICS cell in the table below. This would give us a
total estimate of Environmental Employment based on all the parameters described in the
previous section.
140
3 Digit
NOC
33 3 Digit NAICS
% of ECO Canada subsector
employment
33 3-Digit level
NAICS
140 3-Digit
NOC codes
14 ECO Canada
Subsectors
330 NOS
competencies
Traditional LMI
variables
ECO Canada defined
variables to meet the
need of the
Environmental sector
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However, practically that is not possible because of the magnitude and complexity of Primary
research ECO Canada would need to undertake. Hence ECO uses the steps outlined in the next
section to arrive at an Environmental Employment estimate linking the NOC, NAICS and NOS
(and hence ECO Canada subsectors).
Steps undertaken for Measuring Environmental Employment Labour Market Information:
In the absence of infinite budget and time – here are the steps ECO Canada undertakes to
measure Environmental Employment:
Step 1a: Link subsectors to NOC employment through Job Posting Analysis
Step 1 b: Budget permitting – Link NOC to 330 Competencies through Job Posting Analysis
Step 3: Link NAICS to ECO Canada Subsector Employment through Primary Employer Survey
140
3 Digit
NOC
14 ECO Canada Subsectors
140
3 Digit
NOC
330 ECO Canada competencies (NOS)
14 ECO Canada Subsectors
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Finally COMBINING the above sources to arrive at a single Environmental Employment estimate
based on the NOC, NOS and NAICS parameters:16
16 The steps outlined in this paper very clearly tell us how to get a full picture of current Environmental Employment based on the
NAICS, NOC and NOS framework. It does NOT elaborate on the Environmental Goods and Services component. The Goods and
Services definition of Environmental Employment, based primarily on NAICS, concentrates only on industries that have
Environmental Goods and Services as an output. Taking a look at the Goods and Services component of Environmental Employment
will help us achieve two things:
• The measure will support measures of the size of the environmental sector as a percentage of the Canadian economy.
• Because the main source of information is the Statistics Canada Goods and Services survey and the Canadian System of
National Accounts which has been tracked over years – delving into this data will give us good indication of long term
trends in the Environmental Sector to better project future Environmental Employment.
For further information on this component, please get in touch with the ECO Canada research team.
At the outset, the definition of employment by environmental occupations (from Job Posting Analysis (JPA) will be
the smallest estimate of employment, but will have a high level of detail. This estimate from JPA will be a subset of
the environmental employment estimate based on competencies and ECO Canada subsectors (from ECO Canada
Employer Survey)
While the figures from the Primary Employer Survey will contain detailed information by NAICS, the information
can be aggregated to remove the NAICS level, and the environmental occupations data (from JPA) can be
subtracted out of the Environmental Employment data (from the Primary Employer Survey PCEE). This will
generate an estimate of environmental employment that is non-occupation environmental employment (workers
using environmental competencies but not using them enough to appear in core job descriptions on job ads).