LINK = Aboriginal Supply +

Construction Demand

January 2013

Trust, Transparency, Commitment and Collaboration

Aboriginal Apprenticeship Board of Ontario (AABO)

• Purpose

• Put the End in Site

• View from the Eagle

• LINK Aboriginal Supply with Employer Demand

• Evolution of Aboriginal Labour Market Programming

• Partnerships—Ontario Apprenticeship Stakeholder Community

• Capacity / Governance

• Aboriginal Apprenticeship Board of Ontario (AABO)

• Takeaway

Presentation Focus

The purpose of this presentation is to:

1. Provide an overview of the Aboriginal Apprenticeship Board of Ontario (AABO) and its approach to LINK the Aboriginal (First Nation, Inuit and Metis) supply with the construction demand; and

2. Outline how the successful approach of Grand River Employment And Training (GREAT) supports their clients obtain jobs leading to careers in the construction industry, become a registered indentured apprentice with support to journey person completion.

Purpose

- First Nation, Metis and Inuit peoples find self-fulfilment through work, become self-sufficient as a result of finding a job leading to a career and becoming a role model within their communities

- Social and economic conditions of First Nation, Metis and Inuit individuals / communities change for the good

- The First Nation, Metis and Inuit peoples are one solution to meeting the skills gap in construction and the trades in Ontario / Canada

- Employers continue to engage in developing strategies to recruit, retain and advance First Nations, Metis and Inuit within their organizations

Put the End in Site

View from the Eagle

• Environmental Scan• Labour Market Information• Employment Opportunities leading to careers• Untapped First Nation, Inuit and Metis human resources• First Nation, Metis and Inuit peoples are obtaining academic

credentials coupled with job skill requirements with the support of ASETAs

• First Nation, Metis and Inuit peoples are moving from a hunting and gathering society to a wage economy

• Aboriginal people live in urban, rural and remote locations throughout Canada

• GREAT and other ASETAs prepare their clients to the job ready state

View from the Eagle

• Knowledge of where the employment opportunities can be found and the process to access them;

• Possession of the academic and skill levels to compete for the employment opportunity;

• Ability to succeed in the interview process;

• Aboriginal Skills Employment and Training Agreement holders, such as GREAT house the inventory of skilled Aboriginal workers; and

• GREAT supports clients acquire academic/training credentials, prepares them for the interview; and follows up with client/employer

LINK Aboriginal Supply with Employer Demand

Partnerships – Ontario Apprenticeship Stakeholder Community

• Identify mutual goals of recruiting, retaining and advancing skilled workers for an employer (ASETA/Industry Engagement Sessions)

• Share and understand each other’s processes to achieve mutual goals Aboriginal Skills Employment and Training Strategy (ASETS) have been operating for 20 plus years and supports close to 85 agreement holders with over 400 points of service throughout Canada

• ASETA holders have the budgets, the authority to spend the budgets and authority to develop and design labour market programs to meet community and individual needs

• Work is underway to make it easier for employers to hire, Aboriginal people to be hired and to manage the process

Partnerships – Ontario Apprenticeship Stakeholder Community

• Not all things are created equal for ASETAs given employment opportunities in service delivery area range from good to bad;

• The economies of scale for ASETAs are challenged to take advantage of employment opportunities and grow given limited human and financial resources (small, medium and large);

• Some ASETAs have adapted to change over the years while others maintain the status quo e.g., politics versus bureaucracies; and

• GREAT is a leader and can demonstrate how to adapt to change while not forgetting who they work for… “community / individual”

Capacity / Governance

• AABO was created from the ground up by First Nation, Inuit and Metis ASETAs in partnership with the Ontario apprenticeship stakeholder community;

• ASETAs have partnered through AABO to support their clients increase access to jobs in construction leading to careers in the industry;

• ASETAs are seen as the panacea to support Aboriginal peoples find and keep jobs leading to careers resulting in competing client priorities i.e., support multi barrier clients versus support for near job ready clients;

• AABO has connected ASETA holders with the Ontario apprenticeship stakeholder community i.e., employers, construction associations, unions, non-unions, governments, training institutions and others;

• LINK Steering Committees established stemming from ASETA/ Construction Industry Engagement Sessions; and

• The fundamental principles of AABO’s way forwarded is founded on

Trust, Transparency, Commitment and Collaboration

Aboriginal Apprenticeship Board of Ontario

AABO continues to engage the Ontario apprenticeship stakeholder community through the LINK Steering Committees; the following partnerships have resulted in Aboriginal people finding a job leading to a career with GREAT setting examples and building on their successes:

-Hammer Head to WRAP (Work Ready Aboriginal People)-International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)-Aecon-Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario (OETIO)-Ontario Power Generations (OPG)-Canadian Union of Skilled Workers (CUSW)-Building Trades Councils

Some Successes

- Carpenters’ Union- Skills Canada- LINK Steering Committees- Sheet Metal and Pipe Fitters- Aboriginal Employment Skills Employment and Training Agreement

(ASETAs)- Construction Associations in parts of Ontario- Sector Councils (CAF, CSC, ESC, MIHR)- Provincial / Federal Government Officials - GREAT’s Governance Model

Some Successes ….. continued

• The Ontario Frist Nation, Inuit and Metis peoples are seen as one solution to meeting the skills gap in construction and the trades.

• First Nation, Inuit and Metis peoples are organized and have financial and human resources to design, develop and deliver labour market programs and services by Aboriginal people, for Aboriginal people.

• Partnerships between the Aboriginal community, construction industry and private sector are critical to achieve success; and they continue to grow with the support from AABO / GREAT.

• The provincial government of Ontario has approached AABO/ GREAT with funding to undertake projects linking the Aboriginal supply with the construction demand.

• The solution has to come from the community to address issues for the short, medium and long term.

Take Away

Aboriginal Apprenticeship Board of Ontario (AABO) Website

www.aabo.ca

Grand River Employment And Training(GREAT) Websitewww.greatsn.com

Take Away cont….