Over the past year, more than 1,000 First Nations members throughout the province have received skills training through programs supported by B.C.’s Aboriginal Skills Training Development Fund and delivered close to home.

During this time, a total of $8.2 million has been invested in 23 skills training projects for more than 45 First Nations communities as well as urban/off-reserve Indigenous people. Another 1,000 First Nations members will receive training in the year ahead.

When it comes to finding a job, skills training programs supported by the fund can make all the difference. Just ask Elias McMillan, a Tsimshian First Nations member who lives in Terrace. Last year, the 41-year-old was laid off from his supervisor’s job at a local construction company. Complicating things, he’d just been married, has two children and was recovering from knee surgery.

Elias wanted to get out of seasonal construction work and with a family to support, he enrolled in the local Pathways to Success program, which has been funded by the Aboriginal Skills Training Development Fund. Through the training he received, which included simulated job interviews and resume preparation, Elias has been able to transfer his supervisory skills from construction to retail management. Pathways instructors and counselors helped him make the connections he needed to land the kind of job he wanted.

Today, Elias is working full-time as a supervising manager at the local Sears Canada outlet store in Terrace. He’s paying his bills, building his credit profile, and recently bought a house. Not surprisingly, there’s a new measure of satisfaction and stability in his life.

Introduced last year, the Aboriginal Skills Training Development Fund is providing $30 million over three years for Aboriginal skills training projects and partnerships focused primarily across the resource corridor in northern British Columbia. The fund is part of a comprehensive plan to ensure First Nations communities benefit from jobs and economic opportunities created by development of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector and to build First Nations community members’ skills that are transferable in a diversified economy.

Quotes:

John Rustad, Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation –

“Aboriginal people are a vital part of B.C.’s workforce, and making sure they have improved access to jobs and share in the prosperity LNG development is bringing to British Columbia is a priority for our government. Innovative and community-based skills training projects like those supported by the Aboriginal Skills Training Development Fund will help us achieve that goal.”

Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour –

“As part of B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint, we continue to make progress towards our goal of ensuring Aboriginal people have the education, training and support they need to find their fit in our diverse, strong and growing economy.”

Quick Facts:

• The Aboriginal Skills Training Development Fund was launched in April, 2015.
• All of the skills-training programs supported by the fund are developed with guidance from First Nations and where possible, delivered in First Nations communities.
• Offering community-driven skills training is one part of the Province’s efforts to include First Nations communities and Aboriginal people in new LNG sector opportunities. B.C. is also working with First Nations communities on environmental stewardship priorities and benefits agreements.
• In addition to the community-based training projects, work has begun on broader skills training programs supported by the fund including:
  • Urban/Off Reserve skills training, which is anticipated to reach 1,000 individuals in seven communities in northern B.C  by March 2018; and,
  • Bridging to Technology – a professional development program focused on coding, GIS/GPS, and Microsoft Office Specialist certification. Forty participants will be trained by March 2017.

Learn More:

B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint: https://www.workbc.ca/Training-Education/B-C-s-Skills-for-Jobs-Blueprint.aspx

Success stories: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/Aboriginal_Skills_Training_success_stories.pdf