A program introduced in 2008 to train northern Saskatchewan Aboriginal people in the resource sector is in danger of shutting down.
Northern Career Quest involves the funding of training for jobs that industry has identified as an immediate need, in exchange for guaranteed employment.
The original mandate of Northern Career Quest was to train 750 people, but it has employed nearly twice that number.
CEO Steve Innes says NCQ is recognized as being the top program among the 36 Aboriginal Skilled Employment Partnership projects in the country.
Innes says despite the program’s success, it might not be renewed past the end of June because the province’s economic situation has changed:
“The latest information we received back from HRSDC in Ottawa is mining in Saskatchewan is not a priority for federal funding. Their feeling was, unfortunately, that . . . the drawbacks of being a ‘have’ province is we should be able to look after ourselves.”
He says the provincial government and industry partners like Cameco and AREVA have committed to NCQ, but they are waiting on word from the federal government.
Innes notes he already has letters of commitment from industry for over 1,000 more jobs in a province that is “crying out to get the Aboriginal population engaged in a meaningful way in the workforce”.
He adds if the program is discontinued, the legacy it will leave behind for future training is the importance of being industry-driven, with on-site training and on-site selections involving industry representatives.