Essential Skills and the Northern Oil and Gas Workforce was officially opened by the Honorable Charles Dent. Minister Dent brought greetings from the GNWT Department of Education, Culture and Employment and welcomed the delegates and speakers to Yellowknife. The Minister commented on the importance of appropriate effective training as a key ingredient in preparing northerners for the opportunities that will accompany the economic boom in the north.
Minister Dent’s comments were as follows:
Good morning. I am pleased to be here to welcome all of you to Essential Skills and the Northern Oil and Gas Workforce and for those of you from outside the NWT, I would like to welcome you to our territory.
This workshop is of great interest to me as it focuses on strategies for improving the skills of the northern workforce. The NWT has a lot to be optimistic about as we look forward to the future. In March 2005, nearly 73% of our population aged 15 years and older was employed, compared to 62% of all Canadians. At the same time, only 5 % of our people in the labour force were unemployed, compared to 7% for all of Canada.
These positive developments are happening at a time when we are also seeing increased high school graduation from small communities and among Aboriginal students. We recognize that with these positive developments, we must challenge ourselves to make improvements so northerners can lead happy, healthy, productive and fulfilled lives. We must be prepared to take advantage of this economic development. We need to give Northerners new opportunities to gain skills and ready themselves for the workforce.
The Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to building and sustaining a skilled northern workforce to meet labour market demands in our growing and robust economy. The development of the oil and gas sector of our economy is providing northerners with many employment and training opportunities. We are optimistic that we will see the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline project proceed.
To capitalize on these opportunities, it is important that we all work together to ensure northerners acquire the essential skills required for work, learning and life. Different jobs require a variety of skills, however, there are a number of skills that are required in almost every occupation. These skills include reading text, using documents, problem solving, critical thinking, teamwork and communication. These are the building blocks for acquiring other skills that may be applicable to any occupation.