Overview

Community energy specialists (CES) support and often lead energy-related projects for their Indigenous community or organization. This training, developed and delivered by CIET in partnership with Indigenous energy experts from Keepers of the Circle and Cambium Indigenous Professional Services, will provide you with the essential knowledge and skills needed to excel as a CES, while providing an opportunity to network with like-minded professionals in Ontario. 

Eligibility

To qualify, participants must:  

  • reside in or be a member of an Ontario Indigenous community and/or  
  • work for an Indigenous organization that provides technical support to Ontario Indigenous communities.  

How to Get Started?

To help you get started on your Community Energy Specialist (CES) journey, Save on Energy invites you to join our free CES Career Training. This training is designed to help you develop the needed knowledge and skills to excel as a CES. The training will be held in two cohorts as described below.

Intermediate Cohort  (registration closed)

Foundational Cohort

  • Information Session on May 7, 2025.
  • Training stream begins June 2025 and ends June 2026  

This cohort is designed for individuals with 1-5 years of experience in an energy-related role or for those who participated in Save on Energy’s 2024 Community Energy Specialist training.  

  • Information Session on October 21, 2025 at 11am ET. To register to the Information Session, click here.
  • Training stream begins October 2025 and ends November 2026

This cohort is ideal for individuals aspiring to become Community Energy Specialists or those with up to 12 months of experience in an energy-related role. No prior experience is required. 

What's included?

  • Quarterly technical training (see cohort schedules)
  • Monthly webinars with industry experts
  • Hands-on project sharing & networking
  • 1 year of free mentorship with Indigenous energy professionals

On-going Mentorship Sessions

Participants will have access to one-on-one mentorship sessions, where they can request virtual meetings with our initiative mentors anytime throughout the 12-month training. Our initiative mentors are Brooklyn Glass from Keepers of the Circle and Shayne Hill from Cambium Indigenous Professional Services.  

These personalized mentorship sessions provide an opportunity to gain expert advice to help you navigate energy efficiency projects. These sessions are tailored to the specific needs or questions of the participants, but could include support with:  

  • Overcoming challenges specific to your project  
  • Engaging leadership or community members to build support and buy-in  
  • Brainstorming and refining ideas and action plans  
  • Customizing project management tools to fit your needs  
  • Navigating funding opportunities and incentives  
  • Defining your role and skill development pathways to advance your career  
  • Navigating the technical aspects of energy efficiency projects  

These mentorship sessions are designed to provide practical, hands-on support to help you navigate your role as a Community Energy Specialists and lead successful energy efficiency initiatives in your community