3.1 Aboriginal Student Recruitment
The survey and interviews confirmed that colleges and institutes view the approaches used for
the recruitment of Aboriginal learners as a very important first step in helping students succeed
in college and institute programs. This is understandable given the education gap facing
Aboriginal learners described in section 2.3 above with low high school completion rates. The
recruitment approaches used can be instrumental in helping students make informed decisions
about the types of programs to choose, their readiness for post-secondary programs, the
support services colleges and institutes can offer to help them succeed, and the type of job or
career their program could lead them to. The vast majority of respondent colleges and
institutes (89 percent) indicated that they are involved in the recruitment of Aboriginal students
however the extent of the activities vary from one institution to another, some indicated this is an
ongoing or almost daily activity, while for others recruitment is only done three to six days per
year due to limited budget and time constraints. Colleges and institutes identified various
approaches to Aboriginal student recruitment as described below.
- Visits, Meetings, and Partnerships with First Nations Bands
The recruitment activities of both Aboriginal and mainstream colleges and institutes
involve visits to aboriginal communities to meet with Education and Training Officers of
First Nations Band Councils and Aboriginal organizations and to participate in career
fairs. Some institutions have more formal partnerships with First Nations Bands which
include student recruitment while others rely on communicating with Aboriginal
communities, organizations and First Nations Bands by mailing out college and institute
promotional information and calendars.
In some regions of the country, liaison and partnerships with First Nations Bands is
viewed as important in order to promote college level education as a viable post
secondary option for Aboriginal students. For example, Nova Scotia Community College
(NSCC) has indicated that it is sometimes a challenge for Aboriginal students in Nova
Scotia who want to attend college to get band funding because some bands do not
recognize college programs as being post-secondary. NSCC has initiated an innovative
program called “Parent as a Career Coach” delivered in collaboration with Education and
Training Officers of First Nations Bands and public school support workers. Through this
program, the college organizes meetings with parents and uses the Guiding Circles
Approach to engage parents in discussions on their role in guiding their children’s career
choices, and helps parents see college as a post-secondary option, since many see
university as the only option for their children. The Guiding Circles is a self-exploration
and career development tool promoted by the Aboriginal Human Resource Development
Council of Canada which combines traditional teachings with sound contemporary
career development exercises which enables Aboriginal people to arrive at a better
understanding of themselves in terms of possible career goals. The series of activities
help users develop a personalized career circle by incorporating personal interests,
skills, values, style, spirit, learning patterns and work/life balance. This is a holistic
approach that invites input from community members, parents, teachers, elders, peers,
etc. to provide additional feedback toward an individual's skills and goals to complete the
career circle.12