Trades council calls for increased funding for Aboriginal journeypersons

The Saskatchewan Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council, representing unionized construction trades in the province, is calling for increased funding of Aboriginal apprentices. In a 24-page brief called Trades Training: Investing in Saskatchewan’s Economy and released early June, the building trades make six recommendations to increase skills training in the province, including increasing funding for Aboriginal apprentices through the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission. While there has been “some significant improvement in the number of Aboriginal journeypersons” in recent years, the report notes “the number remains very small,” and the number of Aboriginal apprentices entering the program has remained flat for the last three years. According to SATCC data, about 120 Aboriginal journeypersons were certified in 2010, up from about 60 in 2006.