SLAVE LAKE, ALBERTA, MAY 11, 2010—Today, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, Mr. Brian Jean, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and Member of Parliament for Fort McMurray–Athabasca, announced Government of Canada funding to help Aboriginal workers overcome barriers to employment.
“Our government’s investments in Aboriginal people are helping to create the best educated, the most skilled, and the most flexible workforce in the world,” said Mr. Jean. “With this project, we are helping 36 Aboriginal workers gain the skills they need for the labour market today.”
The Lesser Slave Lake Indian Regional Council is delivering the First Nations Building a Community project under the regional component of the Aboriginal Skills and Training Strategic Investment Fund. The goal of this project is to provide unemployed First Nations participants with apprenticeship training and work experience hours, as well as Heavy Equipment Operator training. It will also help as many individuals as possible to successfully complete the next stage of their formal apprenticeships with training and work experience, and assist the community by addressing the shortage of qualified tradespeople in the area. An example of this project’s success is the Sucker Creek First Nations Row Housing Complex, which will be hosting an open house today.
“The Building a Community project is a multi-partnership project designed to provide an opportunity for our First Nations participants to advance in their apprenticeship training, and to benefit the community by allowing more of the housing funds to go toward home renovations and building new homes,” said Grand Chief Jim Badger of the Lesser Slave Lake Indian Regional Council. “We are extremely pleased with the many benefits associated with this program, and I personally welcome such an initiative, seeing first-hand the results of the project.”
Canada’s Economic Action Plan provides $75 million for the Aboriginal Skills and Training Strategic Investment Fund over two years, which will help create opportunities for Canadian workers through skills development during these tough economic times. This project will receive $1,675,252 and is one of over 80 short-term projects that will provide training opportunities and jobs for Aboriginal Canadians.
Through the Fund, the Government of Canada will help Aboriginal people get the specific skills they need to benefit from economic opportunities in a variety of sectors, such as health, aviation, trucking, construction and forestry, among others.
Aboriginal Skills and Training Strategic Investment Fund projects support initiatives in various industries that test innovative ideas and approaches to delivering Aboriginal labour market programs. They may also provide training to help individuals overcome barriers to employment, such as low literacy.
All projects will deliver measurable results within the two‑year timeframe and will be completed by March 31, 2011.
More information can be found on the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada Web site at http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/.
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This news release is available online at www.actionplan.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
Aboriginal Skills and Training Strategic Investment Fund
Aboriginal Skills and Training Strategic Investment Fund projects were selected using an application process. These projects identify and implement distinct, short-term, focused initiatives designed to help Aboriginal people get the skills they require to benefit from economic opportunities.
The Fund has a regional and a national component. The regional component supports training‑to‑employment projects, skills development projects and service improvement projects on a regional basis.
The national component of the Fund supports initiatives that are national in scope and partnership‑based (Aboriginal organizations, governments, sector councils, and national training and employment groups, etc.). The goal of the national projects is to develop tools, services or promising practices to enhance the range of client and business services provided under the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy, the successor strategy to the Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy.
