Halton Industry Education Council

What Halton Industry Education Council does

Halton Industry Education Council (HIEC) is a Canadian not-for-profit social enterprise founded in 1989 and headquartered in Burlington, Ontario, with a staff of more than 40 employees. It operates a portfolio of career exploration, mentorship, and workforce development programs that connect students, job seekers, employers, educators, and parents across Ontario and, since 2022, nationally. Its core product is ApprenticeSearch.com, a free online matching platform launched in 1999 to connect job seekers pursuing skilled trades with employers, which now serves 20,000+ registered job seekers and 2 million site visits per year across Canada. Complementary programs include Ontario Career Lab (volunteer-driven in-class mentorship), Women as Career Coaches (annual mentorship event with 600+ attendees), Men as Career Coaches, Gateway to the Trades, Career Awareness Program for Grade 7 students, Beyond the Bell workshops, the Career and Life Planning Summer Boot Camp, and the Parents as Career Coaches podcast.

HIEC does not generate revenue from end users; instead, its funding mix consists of government grants (e.g., CAD $488,550 from the Government of Ontario for Gateway to the Trades), corporate sponsorships, and crowdfunding/donations structured in tiers up to $600 for events such as WACC. Programs are delivered free to students and job seekers through direct in-school partnerships with school boards (HCDSB, HDSB, TDSB), in-person programming at the Burlington facility, online self-serve access via ApprenticeSearch.com, and signature events. The organization has reached more than 250,000 youth cumulatively and currently serves around 7,000 students annually through the Career Awareness Program alone.

Name

Halton Industry Education Council

Legal name

Halton Industry Education Council

Website

https://hiec.on.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Halton Industry Education Council (HIEC) is a Canadian not-for-profit social enterprise connecting employers, educators, students, and job seekers through workforce development programs and the national ApprenticeSearch.com skilled-trades matching platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Development Services

NAICS

Apprenticeship Training (611513), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Technical and Trade Schools (6115)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Dislocated Worker & Rapid Response / Reemployment Programs (EDAAAOAF)

Keywords

• Workforce development services
• Career education programs
• Apprenticeship matching platform
• Skilled trades mentorship
• Youth career exploration

Headquarters

HQ city

Burlington

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Grants and Funding: HIEC receives funding from various levels of government including Ontario government investment (e.g., $488,550 for Gateway to the Trades program) and Ontario Trillium Foundation Capital Grants.
2. Donations and Crowdfunding: As a not-for-profit social enterprise, HIEC relies on charitable donations. WACC event is entirely crowdfunded. Donation options include $30, $60, $120, $240, and $600 levels.
3. Corporate Sponsorships: Organizations can sponsor events like Women as Career Coaches through sponsorship packages that provide brand recognition and community alignment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Halton Industry Education Council (HIEC) is a not-for-profit social enterprise that connects students, job seekers, educators, and employers through career exploration programs, mentorship events, and the ApprenticeSearch.com online matching platform. Its offerings are focused on workforce development, apprenticeship pathways, and skilled trades awareness across Ontario and, via ApprenticeSearch.com, nationally across Canada.

Product overview

HIEC offers a portfolio of career development programs and services rather than a unified technology product. The core offerings include ApprenticeSearch.com (an online job matching platform for skilled trades), Ontario Career Lab (volunteer-driven classroom mentorship), and multiple event-based programs including Women as Career Coaches (WACC), Gateway to the Trades, Career Awareness Program, and Parents as Career Coaches podcast. Additional programs include Skilled Trades Career Coaches, Sector Specific Mentorship, Beyond the Bell workshops, and Summer Boot Camps. The organization also maintains archived programs like Men as Career Coaches. These programs collectively support career exploration, workforce development, and mentorship for students and job seekers across Ontario and Canada.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ApprenticeSearch.com: A free online community connecting job seekers pursuing the skilled trades with employers across Ontario and now nationally. Managed by HIEC, it helps grow Ontario's skilled workforce through job matching, training resources, and career pathway support.
• Ontario Career Lab
• Women as Career Coaches (WACC)
• Gateway to the Trades
• Parents as Career Coaches (PACC)
• Career Awareness Program

Products and services

• ApprenticeSearch.com

Quantifiable outcome

• Reached over 250,000 youth across Canada
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Workforce Central CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Workforce Central Canada was founded in 2017 as a collaborative effort of HIEC, MDB Insight, and the National Association of Workforce Boards. Known for its series of targeted workforce podcasts, it provides leadership, resources, and facilitated supports to Canada's workforce development sector.
• Canadian Apprenticeship ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-time partners who collaborated with HIEC to launch the Canadian Apprenticeship Service's grants for employers hiring and training first year apprentices in 39 Red Seal trades.
• Skills OntariominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSkills Ontario brought their Trades and Tech Truck to Gateway to the Trades Open House to give participants a hands-on skilled trades experience.
• Skilled Trades OntariocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMelissa Young, CEO and Registrar of Skilled Trades Ontario joined Gateway to the Trades Open House to share expertise and promote the skilled trades as a career of choice.
• Ontario Ministry of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHIEC Executive Director serves as Founding Member of the Ministry of Education Council for Experiential Learning, influencing education policy.
• Local School Boards (HCDSB, HDSB, TDSB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with Halton Catholic District School Board, Halton District School Board, and Toronto District School Board to deliver career education programs to thousands of students annually.
• Ontario Business Education PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHIEC serves as advisor on this partnership focused on business-education connections.
• Ontario Chamber of Commerce Workforce Development CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHIEC serves as advisor on workforce development initiatives.
• Labour Market Information CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHIEC serves on the National Stakeholder Advisory Council of the Labour Market Information Council.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• YWCA Canada: National federation running women's employment programs, mentorship, and career services — analogous in running employment-focused programming for women (comparable to WACC's mandate) at much larger scale across Canada.

Direct peers

• ACCES Employment: Canadian non-profit providing employment services, mentorship, and employer matching for job seekers — comparable mission, target population segments (underemployed/youth), and employer-engagement model to HIEC's workforce development stack.
• Career Edge Organization: Canadian non-profit running paid internships and work-integrated learning programs for youth and newcomers — closely comparable in target population (early-career individuals), employer engagement approach, and career coaching model.
• Skills Ontario: Ontario-based not-for-profit that promotes skilled trades careers through competitions, in-school programs, and the Trades and Tech Truck — directly comparable to HIEC's Career Awareness Program and Gateway to the Trades, with overlapping employer and school board relationships.
• Magnet (formerly TRIEC): Toronto-based employment matching platform connecting employers with diverse talent pools, including newcomers — the closest direct comparator to ApprenticeSearch.com in terms of digital matching infrastructure and employer-side value proposition.

Emerging players

• BuildForce Canada: Industry-led workforce forecasting and recruitment organization for Canada's construction and maintenance trades — overlapping focus on skilled trades labour-market data and employer-side workforce development.
• NPower Canada: Canadian non-profit providing free tech and digital skills training plus employment support to youth from underserved communities — analogous training-to-employment pipeline model, though focused on tech rather than skilled trades.

Others

• Canadian Apprenticeship Forum: National not-for-profit dedicated to promoting and improving the Red Seal apprenticeship system — direct collaborator with HIEC on the Canadian Apprenticeship Service grants and overlapping trades-workforce mandate, though primarily a policy/advocacy body rather than direct service provider.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/haltoniec
• Facebookfacebook.com/HaltonIndustryEducationCouncil
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/halton-industry-education-council
• Instagraminstagram.com/haltoniec

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Halton Industry Education Council