Labrador - Aboriginal Human Resource Council

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The Discussion Participants engaged in discussion on how to increase Aboriginal participation in overall employment, with a focus on trades and apprenticeship in the Labrador region. The dialogue and deliberations at the session are contained below. PART 1: PRESENTATIONS A number of presentations were made to provide the participants with context for their discussions. The presentations included: • Labrador Market Overview, Rex Goudie, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) • Statistical Overview of the Labrador Labour Market, Pam Toope, Department of Human Resources, Labour and Employment (HRLE). PART 2: PANEL over the past three-years and sees this partnership continuing in the future. • Catherine Taplin, Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOCC). Iron Ore has 1,600 employees and two-thirds of staff will be retiring over the next five years. For Iron Ore, retention and recruitment has been, and will continue to be, a challenge. • Ameila Moss, Servco 198. Servco 198 has 350–360 employees working in a unionized environment. The company’s main issues are recruitment and retention. Within five years, one-third of their workforce will retire. • David Hollett, HL O’Connell. The construction company employs a number of Aboriginal people and their experience in Labrador has been very positive. More has to be done to promote the trades as a career. The Joint Employment and Training Initiative is a good program since it has produced a number of skilled Aboriginal workers. PART 3: DEMAND SIDE A panel of private sector company representatives presented a short synopsis of their demand side issues and answered questions from the plenary. Following is a list of panelists and a short synopsis of their presentation: • Tom Paddon, Voisey’s Bay Nickel Company Ltd (VBNC). Over the next 10 years there will be 80,000 vacancies in the mining sector. Voisey’s Bay values the benefit of linking with Aboriginal people. The company has built a very productive relationship with Aboriginal Peoples Purpose This was a general discussion on the demand side (employer) of the employment equation. Business was setup as advisors to help AHRDAs increase their understanding of the demand side. The following is a very brief summary of highlights that outline concerns and issues that were taken from the various reports and conversations about the demand side of the labour market equation: 5
• Business needs labour market information. • Employers need to go directly into Aboriginal communities and let them know what jobs are available. • Need better joint planning for both the demand and supply of labour. • Need for long-term sustainable employment; entry-level compensation isn’t enough. • Need to connect training with the jobs that are available now and in the future. • Need different strategies for skilled trained workers as opposed to untrained workers. • Source locally: Conduct cross-cultural awareness training in communities where companies recruit. • The high number of retirements is adding increased pressure to expand. • Available, affordable housing is sometimes an issue. • Expose youth to the apprenticeship system. • Recruitment should begin at the high school level. • Better linkages should take place between the education system and employers. • Involve people in community (i.e., elders, council). • There is a lack of connections with employers. • Mobility of workers is required; sometimes this is an issue for some Aboriginal people. People with an established life can’t leave their jobs and homes to spend threeyears working for a degree. They need to achieve this through on-the-job training. This could be done if employers could provide accommodations and helicopter time. • Need websites for job seekers. • AHRDAs lack the capacity to update databanks of job seekers. • We need a Labrador-wide databank. • Some candidates lack experience. • There is a shortage of journey-persons in the area. • Employers should be offering work for all trades terms to job seekers. • There are housing issues at Voisey’s Bay. • Adult basic education is an issue. • Need to upgrade current employees for the future. • High labour costs due to a number of short-term jobs at high wages. • Need long-term training linked to careers. • Language is a challenge. Participants were separated into groups and were asked to respond to a number of questions. The following is a summary of the responses from the various groups: Barriers to Recruitment and Retention What challenges and frustrations do companies face with regard to the recruitment and retention of an Aboriginal workforce • Need trained/skilled employed people. 6
Page 1 and 2: Workforce Connex Labrador Workforce
Page 3 and 4: • Wendy Poole, Labour Métis Nati
Page 5 and 6: Message CEO/President Aboriginal Hu
Page 7: Part 2: Panel: A panel of private s
Page 11 and 12: Minaskut Limited partnership repres
Page 13 and 14: • Provide shop classes for high s
Page 15 and 16: Participants were separated into gr
Page 17 and 18: • Provide financial planning at t
Page 19 and 20: • Treat everyone the same, hears
Page 21 and 22: • Create ways to overcome geograp
Page 23 and 24: FORUM AGENDA Workforce Connex Labra
Page 25 and 26: PARTICIPANT ORGANIZATION LOCATION 2
Page 27 and 28: 58. Taplin, Catherine Iron Ore Comp
Page 29 and 30: • Open dialogue and action items
Page 31 and 32: Glossary Of Terms ACRONYM DEFINITIO

Labrador - Aboriginal Human Resource Council

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