CALGARY, AB – ECO Canada has launched SBEP Indigenous, a new application pathway within the Sustainable Blue Economy Professional (SBEP) program designed for First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals in Canada with experience connected to ocean, coastal, or freshwater-to-ocean environments.
SBEP Indigenous recognizes that the knowledge, skills, and experience that support Canada’s sustainable blue economy are developed in many ways. While experience may come from employment or formal education, it is also built through community leadership, stewardship activities, cultural practice, harvesting, fisheries, aquaculture, training, and hands-on work with the land and water.
The pathway is designed to highlight these diverse experiences and provides a structured way for applicants to demonstrate what they know, what they have done, and how they apply their knowledge in real-world settings.
Why Apply for SBEP Indigenous?
Your skills and experience may not be reflected by a job title or a formal credential alone. SBEP Indigenous recognizes that alternate environmental experiences are meaningful and provides a structured way to demonstrate them.
By applying for SBEP Indigenous, you can:
- Gain recognition for skills and experience developed through community, cultural, educational, and professional pathways.
- Showcase how you apply your knowledge in real-world situations, not just what is listed on a resume.
- Highlight expertise across areas such as environmental stewardship, marine operations, project management, safety and compliance, technical systems, leadership, and communications.
- Demonstrate your contributions to Canada’s growing sustainable blue economy.
- Make your experience more visible to employers, partners, communities, and others working across the blue economy.
Applicants may choose to highlight their experience across a range of focus areas, including:
- Environmental Stewardship & Assessment
- Data, Planning & Project Management
- Technical Systems & Engineering
- Marine Operations & Navigation
- Safety, Regulatory & Compliance
- Professional, Leadership & Communications
Applications are reviewed by the Blue Economy Certification and Approvals Board (BECAB), which considers applicants’ experience profiles, practical scenario responses, supporting information, references, and community confirmations as part of the review process. Reviews are conducted under confidentiality agreements and typically take four to six weeks to complete.
Know it. Show it.
If your experience includes working on the water, stewarding natural resources, supporting your community, contributing to marine operations, conducting research, or applying traditional and cultural knowledge, you already have the skills that contribute to Canada’s sustainable blue economy.
The knowledge you’ve gained through your community, culture, and connection to the land has value. SBEP Indigenous helps you showcase that expertise and receive professional recognition for the skills you’ve developed through community leadership, cultural practice, and lived experience.
SBEP Indigenous is funded by the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Program.
The Future Skills Centre (FSC) is a forward-thinking centre for research and collaboration dedicated to driving innovation in skills development so that everyone in Canada can be prepared for the future of work. We partner with policymakers, researchers, practitioners, employers and labour, and post-secondary institutions to solve pressing labour market challenges and ensure the benefits of lifelong learning are accessible to all. We are founded by a consortium whose members are Toronto Metropolitan University, Blueprint, and Signal49 Research, and are funded by the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Program.
Le Centre des Compétences futures (CCF) est un centre de recherche et de collaboration avant-gardiste qui se consacre à l’innovation dans le domaine du développement des compétences afin que toutes les personnes au Canada soient prêtes pour l’avenir du travail. Nous travaillons en partenariat avec des personnes chargées de l’élaboration des politiques, des personnes chargées de la recherche, des spécialistes, des employeurs et des travailleuses et travailleurs, ainsi qu’avec des établissements d’enseignement postsecondaire, afin de résoudre les problèmes urgents du marché du travail et de veiller à ce que chacun puisse bénéficier de possibilités pertinentes d’apprentissage tout au long de la vie. Nous sommes fondés par un consortium dont les membres sont l’Université métropolitaine de Toronto, Blueprint et Signal49 Recherche, et nous sommes financés par le Programme du Centre des compétences du gouvernement du Canada.
Check your eligibility and begin your application today: https://oceanalliancecanada.ca/sbep-pathways/sbep-indigenous/