Apprentices at Hydro Ottawa learn from the very best in their field while getting paid and gaining valuable hands-on experience.
Hydro Ottawa depends on the skills of our trades employees to make it possible for us to power homes and businesses across the city. From working in our underground system as a Power Cable Technician to our overhead distribution system as a Powerline Technician, from installing residential smart meters to working on a substation or managing the grid for our service territory, our trades employees make a difference everyday.
As Hydro Ottawa looks to shape a new generation of employees for the electricity sector, we are particularly proud of our paid apprenticeship programs, recognized in 2023 with a National Apprenticeship Award from the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum.
More than 23% of our trades workforce consists of apprentices. Our apprenticeships offer aspiring trades workers a unique opportunity to learn from our skilled journeypersons, who are respected as some of the best in the industry. Our journeypersons support and mentor apprentices throughout their hands-on work experience to ensure that they continue to learn and stay safe.
And, we encourage young women to consider a career in the trades. Everyone benefits from our workforce reflecting the diverse communities that we serve.
Visit the Skilled Trades Ontario for more information.
Powerline Technician Diploma Program
At Hydro Ottawa, we are proud of our award-winning partnership with Algonquin College in the delivery of a two-year Powerline Technician Diploma Program.
Training is our passion, and we are invested in shaping the next generation of employees for the electricity sector.
Our partnership offers students one of the most unique learning opportunities in the province. While Algonquin College’s experienced instructors deliver academic components of the curriculum, our journeypersons provide practical instruction at our facilities that helps students learn the trade by doing it with their own hands. Students enrolled in Algonquin College’s Powerline Technician Diploma Program develop the necessary skills to design, plan, construct and maintain electrical distribution lines – and they learn it from journeypersons who have spent their careers honing their expertise at Hydro Ottawa.
Fueled by our commitment to increase gender equity, we have taken steps to ensure women have opportunities to join the trades and feel supported along their journey. Hydro Ottawa and Algonquin College partnered to launch the We Saved You a Seat project for the Powerline Technician Diploma Program, which saves 30% of the program’s seats for women. Hydro Ottawa employees act as mentors for female students, and additional support is provided through the Hydro Ottawa Award, a $2,500 entrance award given to a first-year female student in the program. A similar award is in place for a female student in her first year of the Electrical Engineering Technician Program at Algonquin College.
Hydro Ottawa hires exclusively from the Algonquin College Powerline Technician Diploma Program to fill our positions for Powerline Technician Apprentices and Power Cable Technician Apprentices.
For more information on the Powerline Technician Diploma Program, and on how to apply, visit Algonquin College’s website.