CanadaImmigrants.com British Columbia Desk - For Immediate Release 2010ALMD0015 000450 April 23, 2010 Ministry of AdvancedEducation and Labour Market Development ABORIGINAL SKILLS PROGRAM BUILDS COMMUNITIES VANCOUVER The Province is investingalmost $4 million in a new program to help build skills and training for over600 Aboriginal people in communities across B.C., creating opportunities forparticipants to practice their new skills and gain work experience, MinisterMoira Stilwell announced today. Tapping into thelabour market potential for B.C. s Aboriginal people is vital to meet ourprovince s future needs for skilled workers, said Stilwell. This is anotherexample of how government, the Aboriginal community and the private sector cancollaborate, creating new opportunities in skilled, well paying jobs. The AboriginalTraining for Employment Program ATEP will deliver job related trainingin essential skills and introductory trades training, coupled with mentoring, coaching and other retention tools through public,private and Aboriginal controlled training organizations around the province.Seventeen Aboriginal organizations have partnered with industry education andtraining providers to deliver services in over 60 communities. As demand forskilled labour increases and the average age of our population continues torise, Aboriginal communities, with their young and vibrant populations willbecome even more important to the workforce of the future, said the HonourableDiane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. Through theCanada B.C. labour market agreement, we re investing in the skills needed forthe future success of our economy. Once participantssuccessfully complete their training, the ATEP program will directly lead toemployment in business and industry, as well as First Nations economicdevelopment and self governance projects of varying size throughout B.C. Through the ATEP program, we reworking with our partners in First Nations and M tis communities to createlasting opportunities through skills training, said Ministerof Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation George Abbott. Participantswill not only gain valuable skills for employment, but in many cases will beable to immediately use their new abilities on projects within and for thebenefit of their own communities while building experience. The YekoocheFirst Nation is a small, semi remote community, and we are working hard to findmore educational and employment opportunities for our people living on thereserve, said Chief Partner Schielke. This program enables us to train andhire up to 10 trainees, building skills and capacity for our members throughwork in the community. The B.C.government working with academic, industry and otherpartners is enabling British Columbians to gain the skills needed tosuccessfully participate in our provincial labour market, and respondpositively to changing workplace demands. Under the LMA, theGovernment of Canada is providing the Province with approximately $66 millionannually until 2013 14. Through a variety of programs, these funds will supporttraining for employed individuals who are low skilled and require essential skills,or require recognized credentials to reach their full potential in the currentmarketplace. They will also help increase access to training for unemployedindividuals who are not currently Employment Insurance clients, including butnot limited to those who are under represented in the labour market. For more information about B.C. slabour market initiatives, please visit www.workbc.ca . As
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