TORONTO, ONTARIO, April 28, 2010—Mr. Ed Komarnicki, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, today encouraged Aboriginal youth to take advantage of opportunities that Canada has to offer, during his opening remarks at Inclusion Works 2010, Canada’s largest Aboriginal employment fair.
“Our government is taking a number of steps to help Aboriginal people get and keep good jobs,” said Mr. Komarnicki. “Through partnerships with organizations such as the Aboriginal Human Resource Council, we are increasing the recruitment, retention, and advancement of Aboriginal people in Canada’s workforce.”
With the support of the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program, Inclusion Workshelps match Aboriginal post-secondary graduates with employers. This event is part of the Aboriginal Human Resource Council’s work to raise the profile of Canada’s Aboriginal workforce.
“Inclusion Works ’10 is answering the call to advance Aboriginal inclusion and open up hope and opportunity for Aboriginal people and businesses to work in new ways toward economic prosperity,” said Mr. Kelly Lendsay, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Human Resource Council. “This would not be possible without the commitment demonstrated through the Government of Canada and our corporate Leadership Circle partners that help us implement strategies to help employers climb the Inclusion Continuum—a seven-stage road map to becoming an employer-of-choice.”
The Sector Council Program’s partnership with this resource council is one of several federal programs and services that support skills development and training for Aboriginal people. Further to this, Canada’s Economic Action Plan provides an additional $175 million for Aboriginal skills development and employment programs.
At the beginning of this month, the Government of Canada began implementing the new Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ASETS) which supports demand-driven skills development, fosters partnerships with the private sector, provinces and territories, and emphasises accountability and results.
More information about Canada’s Economic Action Plan is available at www.actionplan.gc.ca.
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Please visit Human Resources and Skills Development Canada’s Web site at www.hrsdc.gc.ca.
For further information (media only):
Michelle Bakos
Press Secretary
Office of Minister Finley
819-994-2482
Media Relations Office
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
819-994-5559
Sector Council Program
Through the Sector Council Program, the Government of Canada is working with the private sector to enhance workers’ skills through activities such as increasing employer investments in skills development and promoting workplace learning and training.
Sector councils bring together representatives of government, business, unions, and educational institutions to address key labour market issues, including recruitment, retraining and retention.
Aboriginal Human Resource Council
The Aboriginal Human Resource Council is a national public-private organization, founded in 1998 to increase Aboriginal participation in the labour market. As a sector council, the Council works in partnership with employers, Aboriginal partners, industry associations/sector councils, learning institutions, and federal, provincial and territorial governments to develop and implement more effective Aboriginal workplace recruitment, retention and advancement strategies.
Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership Program
The Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership (ASEP) program is a nationally managed, opportunity-driven, project-based initiative that promotes increased participation of Aboriginal people in major economic developments through formalized partnerships between Aboriginal organizations and the private sector.
ASEP was initially launched in 2003 as an $85-million, five-year program supporting nine projects that resulted in over 6,000 Aboriginal people receiving training, with more than 3,000 of them finding long-term sustainable jobs. In 2007, the ASEP program was extended to 2012, with an additional $105 million supporting 16 more projects.
Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy
The Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy is the successor strategy to the Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy. It will focus on three strategic priorities: supporting demand-driven skills development, fostering partnerships with the private sector and the provinces and territories; and putting emphasis on accountability and results.
Aboriginal Skills and Training Strategic Investment Fund
Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada is investing $75 million in the Aboriginal Skills and Training Strategic Investment Fund. The Fund has a regional and national component. The regional component is supporting training-to-employment projects, skills development projects and service improvement projects, while the national component will be used to support initiatives that are national in scope and partnership-based.
