Bi-directional Mentorship

Exciting news: the Trellis Fund is officially launching its Trellis Mentors program — and Electricity Transformation Canada is where it begins.

What’s the approach?

Industry professionals know things that can't be Googled. Which companies are actually hiring. What a role really looks like from the inside. How to walk a trade show floor and leave with something other than a tote bag full of brochures.

Students and emerging professionals are in touch with the most up-to-date research, technical and interpersonal skills. They bring energy, insight and enthusiasm to the table.

This new Trellis Mentors program pairs students and emerging professionals with experienced industry mentors for a guided, purposeful walk of the trade show floor at Electricity Transformation Canada ETC on October 21.

Not a tour. Not a workshop. A real conversation between someone who's been in the industry for years and the next generation of clean energy professionals.

Here’s your invitation to get involved

Students and Developing Professionals

A trade show floor can feel like a lot: hundreds of booths, thousands of people, and no obvious way in. The Trellis Fund wants to change that for you.

Your mentor will help you identify the booths worth visiting, make warm introductions on your behalf, and give you the kind of insider context that turns a handshake into a follow-up worth having. They'll also debrief with you after — so you leave ETC with clarity, not just business cards.

This program is open to students studying clean technology and to anyone actively working toward a career in the clean energy sector. You don't need experience. You just need to show up curious and ready.

Spots are limited and matched intentionally, and you’ll receive an ETC showroom floor pass worth up to $202. As part of our inaugural cohort, you'll help shape this program from the ground up — and we want to get it right. The sooner you sign up, the better your match.

    • A short intake form at sign-up

    • A 30-minute virtual orientation the week before ETC

    • Pre-event prep: you'll review the conference floor and identify companies you want to meet

    • A free Trade Show pass to ETC ($100 value)

    • Meeting your mentor at 11:00 AM on the trade show floor on the day of the event

    • ~90 minutes of guided, high-value networking — together

Register as a mentee

Industry Professionals

If you are keen and willing to share your industry knowledge and professional skills with the next generation, you’re invited to get involved.

Just you, one or two students or developing professionals, and 90 minutes navigating the trade show at ETC together. You'll make introductions, provide context, help them ask better questions, and show them how professionals move through a room like this. For someone just breaking in, watching that happen — and being part of it — is worth more than a hundred LinkedIn cold messages.

We're looking for professionals with three or more years of experience anywhere in the clean energy sector — development, operations, finance, engineering, legal, insurance, land acquisition, manufacturing, and more. The clean energy workforce needs people who look like everyone, come from everywhere, and bring every kind of expertise.

If you are attending ETC, this is one small, concrete way to help make that happen. As a founding mentor in this program, your contribution goes beyond the conference floor — you'll be helping shape what mentorship looks like in this industry for years to come.

    • A short online intake form

    • A 30-minute virtual orientation the week before ETC

    • Meeting your mentee(s) at 11:00 AM on the trade show floor

    • ~90 minutes of guided time together — with a max ratio of 2 mentees per mentor

Volunteer as a mentor