The EARTHQUEST Biological Field School is exempt from registration under the Private Careers Colleges Act, 2005 (PCCA) and therefore, qualifies for Ontario Skill Development funding for up to 1 year and Second Careers funding for up to 2 years for those who qualify. To view the letter of exemption from the Ministry of Ontario, Training and Colleges please consult: Letter of exemption page 1 (264 kb)
Letter of exemption page 2 (163 kb)
Since January, 2009 a large influx of applicants have been affected by the down turn in the economy as they were laid off, or lost their jobs. Subsequently, they are now facing going back to school to upgrade their skills to requalify for work in another career. If you meet the following criteria you may qualify for Second Careers & Ontario Skill Development funding;
i. Recently laid off or lost your job
ii. Obtained a degree or diploma, preferably in the sciences from a recognized academic institution
iii. Possess a desire to return to work, but follow another career path
iv. Would like to work in the environmental industry
As a minimum requirement to apply to our Biological Field School you must meet the following;
i. You have been recently laid off, or lost your job
ii. Possess a degree/diploma (does not matter when obtained) and are seeking professional skill upgrades
iii. Currently on Employment Insurance (EI), or EI eligible (you must be on EI to apply and qualify for funding)
If you meet these qualifications then it is recommended that you make an appointment with somebody from EARTHQUEST who can assist with recruitment/registration ASAP. Appointments are made on a first come, first serve basis, generally after 4 pm on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Once the appointment has been made simply bring in a copy of your transcript from college/university and a resume and we will try to devise an action plan/strategy for applying for funding. You should also have made an appointment with a Career Counsellor at your local Employment Agency to obtain an Ontario Skills Development application.
The following documents need to be brought to your Career Counsellor;
i. Letter of acceptance from EARTHQUEST; outlining start and end date of training, the program name, the breakdown of costs, the tuition payment schedule, number of hours of training per week, scheduled breaks in training, if applicable
ii. At least 5 job postings from the last 3 months within 2 - 3 hours of where you live
iii. Letter of exemption from EARTHQUEST
iv. The total number of courses of the program from 1 or 2 year program
If accepted into the Biological Field School these items would be provided. Please keep in mind that you would be required to apply to our 12 month or 2 year General FAT mentorship/internship program in order to qualify for Ontario Skill Development & Second Career funding. Placement in this popular program is restricted to a maximum of 8 students per year. If you are considering obtaining funding for this program please ask for availability before approaching your Career Counsellor. If you are accepted and a letter of acceptance is granted you must obtain funding by the start date of the program, or you may lose your spot to another applicant.
Please remember that a "return to work" action plan is a large part of our 12 month or 2 year General FAT mentorship/internship program and you would be trying to qualify for jobs posted on our webpage at;
EARTHQUEST job postings
The following certifications are required/prerequisite for working in the environmental consulting field.
GIS certification
Ecological Land Classification certification
Wetland evaluation certification
certification in flora and fauna identification and survey methodology for the forest region you wish to work (Ontario has 5 forest regions).
It is strongly recommended that candidates choosing to apply to environmental consulting jobs obtain these certifications;
ELC and Wetland studies certification courses
GIS certification course
Terrestrial plant certification courses
Aquatic/wetland plant certification courses
Bird certification courses
Management/leadership certification course
Management/leadership certification is required for Teaching positions at the EARTHQUEST Biological Field School, or Project Manager positions for projects and contract positions.
For potential clients who are interested in hiring our services please contact us directly to obtain a full list of services and amenities provided.
