Challenges and opportunities focus of conference

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Hundreds of delegates and visitors attended the Opportunities in Science and Technology for Aboriginal People Conference held in Winnipeg last month to get a glimpse into the employment future for Canada's First Peoples.

The two-day event featured delegates from, and profiles of, some of the most innovative and successful Aboriginal companies and organizations in the country, including Windspeaker publisher, the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society, plus the Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centres, the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College and the SIMPCW Geographic Information System Team of the Shuswap Nation in B.C.

And based on the exhibitors and speakers who appeared at the event, the future for Aboriginal men and women in the Science and Technology sector appears unlimited.

Jointly sponsored by Indian and Northern Affairs and Human Resources Development Canada, the Winnipeg conference followed up on a 1997 event focusing on youth employment in the sector. That conference identified the need to profile opportunities in the field, as well as profile prominent and successful Aboriginal success stories.

Both Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart and Industry Minister John Manley attended the conference and stressed the government's commitment to assisting Aboriginal people to capitalize on and participate in the opportunities provided by this burgeoning sector of the Canadian economy.

"The government is fully committed to expanding the level of participation by Aboriginal people in the Canadian economy in all sectors, particularly the high growth sectors such as technology and science," said Manley.

Because of the level of technological change in the last two decades and its impact on the labor market, the skill levels required to be competitive in the labor market have increased, according to labor market studies.

One of the major challenges facing employers, society and the labor market in general, is the present level of participation of Aboriginal people. Estimates say that 80,000 jobs would have to be filled in order to bring their participation to the same level as other Canadians. Aboriginal participation in the labor force is currently at only 2.8 per cent.

However Aboriginal people are well represented in employment sectors that are resource-based, such as fishing and trapping, forestry, mining and agriculture.

A report prepared for the conference notes that the labor market itself possesses severe structural problems in the national and regional markets in its ability to accept Aboriginal workers. Part of that problem is that many Aboriginal individuals lack the minimum labor market skills or possess skills that do not match the prevailing needs of the market.

That problem is reflected by the reality that half of the Aboriginal working-age population has not completed high school, while at the same time more than half the new jobs created in the next decade will require post-secondary qualifications.

The lack of role models in high demand careers, such as computer science, electronics, engineering, science and business, were also cited as causes of low Aboriginal participation in the many sectors of the economy, in a report prepared for the conference.

Yet there are numerous examples of effective practices in corporate Aboriginal relations, with the energy and resource sectors spawning a number of dynamic Aboriginal businesses. Native businesses have also been created as suppliers and subcontractors in transportation, hydro maintenance, construction services and the growing eco-tourism field. The pending privatization of some government services will also provide more opportunities for Aboriginal businesses.

While resource industry opportunities are real they are specific to certain geographical regions and vary from sector to sector.

One of the current bright lights for Aboriginal people in the science and technology sectors has been health care employment and training opportunities. At prese, more than 4,900 Aboriginal people are employed in the field and 10 per cent have completed post-secondary programs and have certificates in health professions, sciences and technologies. Of those, 15 per cent have taken university programs and 85 per cent have taken community college programs.

For 24-year-old Amanda Spence the conference was an eye-opener.

"I was amazed to learn about all the Aboriginal organizations and businesses that exist and the opportunities there are in science and technology," she said. "To see my people working in communications and high-tech fields means that the field is wide open and we are as talented and competent as anyone else. It's inspired me to look at career fields I probably wouldn't have thought of before."