Cut in job training has impact on Aboriginal youth

The Alberta Federation of Labour is claiming the provincial government is cutting up to $23 million in job training, leaving Aboriginal and young workers without avenues to find meaningful work.

In a June release, the AFL stated that Alberta is the only province that hasn’t seen any job growth in almost a year, yet are cutting training programs at a time when they are needed the most.

“These job training programs were things that the governments should be proud of,” said AFL President Gil McGowan in the release. “They showed how a small investment in people has a large return many times over. We urge the government of Alberta to rethink these cuts to these most important services and restore funding to employment training programs.”

However, July statistics from Alberta’s Department of Employment and Immigration revealed the provincial seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in July stood at 6.3 per cent, down .4 per cent from the previous month, with nearly 9,000 Albertans landing jobs in June. The figures also stated that Aboriginal unemployment rates fell for the second consecutive month with increases in employment taking place in the forestry, fishing, mining and petroleum sectors.

Still, with only 40.9 Aboriginal youths aged 15 to 24 employed in Alberta, the AFL is up in arms over the decrease of Aboriginal skills development programs by up to seven per cent, with a further $10 million slated to be axed. While the AFL didn’t outline which services were destined for the chopping block, one program offered by Native Counselling Services with a focus on basic life and employment skills to First Nations workers, was recently discontinued.

“To my knowledge, the provincial government didn’t put out another tender after this three-year contract had ended,” said Mike Sutherland, a former job placement coordinator with Native Counselling Services in Edmonton, and is now a corrections officer.

“We specialized in getting Aboriginal workers into meaningful employment. Aboriginal workers are almost on par with other people when it comes to skills, but they’ve been getting lower entry positions. We put them into apprenticeships and that’s where the job retention came in.”

Sutherland said life skills training are critical for young Aboriginals who spend most of their lives on reserves.
Coming from a rural setting to an urban area, presents a big culture shock. The life skills they acquired at Native Counselling Services were essential.

“Anyone can get basic job skills, but the amount of people who’ll lose jobs in a couple months as a result of these training cuts will be huge,” said Sutherland.

It’s a sentiment echoed by a recent chart issued by the AFL correlating training program cuts with increased unemployment. In particular, a 7.39 per cent decrease in Aboriginal Development Partnerships is taking place at a time when off-reserve Aboriginal peoples have experienced unemployment rates that have soared from 7.9 percent in April, 2008, to 17 percent recorded last April.

Sutherland is alarmed over repercussions of the cuts, especially on a young Aboriginal work force.
“This will be a major setback,” he said. “I’m disappointed.”