Even though training programs exist, one of the biggest hindrances to being involved in environmental services is still attributed to lack of training, which is why AESN focuses on piloting different training opportunities geared towards Indigenous people. AITF collaborated with AEMERA to conceptualize and deliver the Environmental Monitoring Technician Training Program pilot for First Nations and Métis Communities in Northeastern Alberta in 2015. Fifteen representatives from 8 Indigenous communities, and approximately 35 science and monitoring staff from the Alberta Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Agency (AEMERA), Alberta Innovates-Technology Futures (AITF) and the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI) participated in the 2015 Environmental Monitoring Technician Training Program pilot.