Training awards handed out in Regina

Page 18

The efforts of two organizations to increase employment opportunities for Aboriginal people were officially recognized June 12, as the Saskatchewan Labour Force Development Board handed out its 2001 Training for Excellence Awards.

SaskTel received the award for Promotion of Aboriginal Participation, in recognition of its Aboriginal program, while the Social Housing Management Program received the honor in the Educational Partnerships category for its efforts to increase Aboriginal participation in the administration of social housing in communities in Northern Saskatchewan.

This is the second year for SaskTel to receive an Excellence Award. Last year, the company received the Educational Partnerships Award for its partnership with Scott Collegiate, a high school with a predominantly Aboriginal student body. That partnership was also recognized last year with an award from the Conference Board of Canada.

This year, SaskTel was recognized for a whole series of initiatives targeted at the Aboriginal community, explained Vanda Conway, manager of strategic planning, human resources for SaskTel.

In addition to the ongoing Scott Collegiate partnership, which helps students learn about the work place while allowing the company to participate in education, a similar partnership with Nutana Collegiate in Saskatoon has recently been launched.

Many of SaskTel's Aboriginal programs involve educational partnerships, whether with high schools as is the case in the Scott and Nutana partnerships, or with post-secondary institutions, including the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (SIFC) and the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology (SIIT).

"For instance, with SIFC, we've been involved with them, we've partnered with them to help fund their building. As part of that same relationship with SIFC, the agreement allows for a lot of flexibility around working together to ensure that the programs they're offering their students have a business flavor, that we can provide some input into the kinds of things that we're looking for," Conway said.

"It's a good thing, because it helps us learn more about the students, and lets the students see us and what a great place we are to work. So that's another kind of component of that partnership.

"As well, with Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology, we have a really strong relationship there. We've had a partnership for about five years, and are kind of continually looking at how do we really get the most out of that partnership, both for them and for us. Again, it's giving students an experience in a work environment, which is probably the number one thing that we can do from a recruiting perspective, is to bring young people in and let them see what it's like to work here. So they get a chance to apply what they're learning," Conway said.

"Also, with the Southeast Metis Development Corporation, that's another institution that we've had a good relationship with. We hired, I think, five of their students. They had a graduating class of eight students, and we scooped five of them, so we were happy about that. So that's another example of a partnership.

"We also, in partnership with the Wicihitowin Foundation, sponsor a youth awards program, the SaskTel Aboriginal Youth Awards.

"We're looking at developing a more comprehensive youth strategy, because we know that what we need to do is not just try and get young people's attention when they're in post-secondary school, but when they're in high school, or even before that for some of them, to help them stay interested in school."

SaskTel also has scholarship programs in place, including the SaskTel scholarship program where eight of the 10 scholarships awarded are designated for employment equity groups.

SaskTel efforts to increase its number of Aboriginal employees also translate into increased opportunities for Aboriginal youth to find summer employment with the corporation.

"This year, we did better that ever before in erms of hiring more Aboriginal youth. Fifty percent of all of our summer hires, that's new summer hires, were Aboriginal people. We were really happy about that," Conway said.

While most of the SaskTel initiatives are aimed at training and recruiting Aboriginal employees, the company's efforts don't end when an Aboriginal employee is hired.

"We have a SaskTel Aboriginal Employees Network that a lot of our Aboriginal employees belong to," Conway said. "And they also help new Aboriginal employees to sort of feel more welcome, and feel that they've got a place where they can go and talk to others that might have had a similar experience. Because our representation is still lower than we want it to be. So we think that's an important thing to have, that additional networking opportunity."

For more information about possible employment with SaskTel, or any of these initiatives, visit the SaskTel Web site at www.sasktel.com.

Fred Wolch is director of northern housing operations with the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation, one of the partners involved in the Social Housing Management Training Program. Other partners in the program include the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST), Northlands College, the Real Estate Institute of Canada, and housing authorities in Northern Saskatchewan.

Wolch said the Social Housing Management Training Program was submitted for consideration for a Training for Excellence Award as a way to raise awareness of the program.

"Winning the award was, I guess you would call it a bonus. An absolute bonus. It just helped to raise awareness even more. Because it's not important just to be doing these things, but to make people aware of them and help plant seeds for other people to think about doing projects of this nature," he said.

The aim of the program is to increase the number of qualified Aboriginal people working in management of social housing in Northern Saskatchewan.

"Recruitment and employment of suitable aplicants is what we're promoting and encouraging, and that's going to be the outcome, I'm pretty sure. We're going to have some young, Aboriginal people trained in Northern Saskatchewan who are from Northern Saskatchewan, who'll have an applied certificate in property management. And the bonus to them is not only training and job opportunities, but having a wealth of knowledge, and hopefully give them other steps into the future. So hopefully everybody comes out winners from the process," Wolch said.

Each of the partners in the program brings something to the mix, he explained. The Real Estate Institute of Canada already offers courses in property management, and Northlands College offers northern-based training.

"And SIAST, they put all the pieces together, and did some of the curriculum for us, and they're providing the applied certificate in property management. So if they finish all the components, they will provide the overall certificate. And SIAST is a recognized institute, and hopefully the certificate will do them in good stead. Hopefully they work within the housing network, but if they want to work other places in property management, hopefully it'll be good for them there also. Because its a province-wide institute," Wolch said.

"The local housing authorities in the North, they are one of the sponsors, and a lot of the training is done in their offices. So they are very instrumental in the hiring and the mentoring of the students. Because they're the ultimate benefactors, that's the offices where these people are going to be working, where they are working now, and hopefully will find full time employment," he said.

Five people are going through the program right now and will be graduating this December.

"We're hoping there'll be full time employment for them in the housing network, and we're hoping to extend the program and do another intake also," he said.

"The housing authorities in Northern Saskatchewan right now, they manage approximately 1,20 rental units. They manage a budget of $7 or 8 million. So they affect the lives of 1,200 families in Northern Saskatchewan. We're trying to do things as much as possible on a local basis, and employ Aboriginal people because most of the client base is Aboriginal. So they understand the issues and the culture and speak the language. So it seems to be a natural fit, and it's working very well."

For more info about the training program, call Phil Parr at the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation at 1-800-667-9656.