Environmental career sector will get a boost in the fall

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CALGARY-A nationally available career awareness tool kit for Aboriginal youth has been announced by an organization called Building Environmental Aboriginal Human Resources, or BEAHR.

Aboriginal EnviroCareers, as it is called, is free, and it will be made available in high schools with Aboriginal students in the fall of 2003.

Human Resources Development Canada is funding the tool kit, as a result of a high Aboriginal youth population that often indicate an interest in environmental studies and careers. The labor market will see an influx of 400,000 Aboriginal youth by 2016. The environmental sector is experiencing growth, and studies have shown that 80 per cent of environmental employers state a willingness to employ Native graduates of environmental studies programs.

BEAHR's goal is "to increase Aboriginal employment in the environment sector by 6,000 positions over the next 15 years." To prepare Aboriginal youth, they are providing a product that will show students what skills and knowledge are needed to enter their environmental career of choice. Information they will provide will include salary ranges, educational requirements, environmental business and employment trends, profiles of Native environmental workers and even lesson plans for high school teachers and counsellors.

Aboriginal EnviroCareers will employ an interactive, multimedia CD-ROM, Web site, video, student career guide and teacher's guide. For more information contact BEAHR's project manager, Tanya Person, at tperson@beahr.ca or fax 403-269-9544.