Canadian Colleges & Institutes - Meeting the Needs of Aboriginal Learners

Work Placements and Internships

Most institutions surveyed confirmed that they offer programs with work placements or internships, and about one third of mainstream institutions offer co-op programs through their regular program offerings which are available to Aboriginal students. Work placements, internships and co-op arrangements help students with labour market transition by providing some work experience and exposing students to employers in their field of study. Upon graduation, often students get jobs with employers from their work placements, internships or co-ops.
Career Counselling/Employment Counselling/ Job Search Support

Close to 80 percent of respondent institutions indicated that they offer career counselling to their students. In the case of the mainstream institutions, most indicated that Aboriginal students can access these services through regular college services however some provide Aboriginal-specific services.

A few respondent institutions emphasized the need for career counsellors to receive cross-cultural training to enable them to work more effectively with Aboriginal learners. For example, at Nova Scotia Community College career counsellors have received cross-cultural training to be better prepared to meet Aboriginal learners’ needs, and have also been trained in the Guiding Circles approach.

Job search support and employment counselling is provided by almost 60 percent of responding institutions. Colleges and institutes identified a number of different ways this support is provided to Aboriginal learners: job postings through college departments; references for graduates; the organization of job fairs hosted by Aboriginal centres or corporate mixers to enable graduating students to meet corporate representatives; and referrals to career and employment centres.

Exemplary Practice: Career Village, Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT)

Career Village is a service offered at the downtown Saskatoon campus of SIIT which provides one- stop shopping for Aboriginal people seeking information on careers, job and training opportunities, and includes support on preparing resumes and job search approaches. This service informs students of the gamete of training opportunities, including but not exclusive to SIIT, and university programs.

The Career Village serves as a complete place to move through the stages of personal career development and encompasses the needs of the job seeker, the support agency and the employer. This service was initiated by SIIT in order to help address some of the barriers Aboriginal people experience in the search for career and employment needs. Such barriers may include: travel, access to telephones, computers and internet, advice and support, self-esteem and finances. Career Village reduces some of these barriers by combining multiple, but compatible services in one central location in Saskatoon.