Government helping to link business and Aboriginal employees

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Creating links is what the Saskatchewan government's Aboriginal Employment Development Program is all about.

Established in 1992, the program is designed to link employers with suitable Aboriginal employees. It has set up a comprehensive inventory of resumes of Aboriginal job candidates in an attempt to improve access to Aboriginal employees.

The goal of the program is to increase Aboriginal employability and employment across the province in both the public and private sectors.

The forecast is to triple the Aboriginal entrants to the labor market in the next eight years.

To this end, the following strategy was adopted:

maintain a focus on Aboriginal employment and career development.

link employers with the Aboriginal workforce by maintaining an inventory of resumes of job candidates.

relate Aboriginal training to real job opportunities

develop partnership agreements with employers to increase Aboriginal employment

develop partnerships between employers and Aboriginal institutions of higher learning through "Affiliation Agreements".

The Aboriginal Employment Development Program is beginning to yield results and has been effective in building a large data base of potential Aboriginal candidates. It has helped them gain employment in government and industry in Saskatchewan.

In 1993, approximately 1,400 resumes had been coded and entered into the inventory. There were 500 job orders from government departments, crown corporations and private sector organizations which resulted in 951 referrals to government departments, 200 to crown corporations and 180 to private companies. Only 73 Aboriginal people were known to be hired since 1993, however that number may be higher because employers do not necessarily notify the program once the employee is chosen.

*Source: Corporate Aboriginal Relations by Pamela Sloan and Roger Hill, published by Hill Sloan Associates Inc., Toronto