Overview:

In 2002, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC) commissioned a study by Price Waterhouse Coopers to provide a quantitative assessment of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region’s capacity to sustain benefits derived from the Mackenzie Valley Gas Pipeline Project – in particular, to develop a 10 year Human Resource Strategic Plan. An observation made by the authors was that many people in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region are not prepared for work on a major development project yet employers expect candidates to have the skills, attitudes and behaviours necessary for successful employment.

Another study done for the IRC, by Price Waterhouse Coopers concluded that many northerners have insufficient education to obtain or succeed in the higher skilled jobs provided by the project. In addition, the Introduction Section of the NWT application for the Oil and Gas Industry under the ASEP program points out that without intense and directed employment skills development programs, Aboriginals will not be able to take advantage of employment opportunities.

These observations have been reinforced by industry. Simply put, employers want employees who are ready, willing and able to work. While tremendous strides have been made to train and develop workers, there are still many Inuvialuit Beneficiaries unable to enter the work force due to lack of education or work skills.

The Workplace Readiness Program (WRP) is designed to transition Inuvialuit Beneficiaries into the workplace by providing basic essential skills and job exposure through work placements. This is not a new concept but a new approach. It is not meant as a single remedy to the larger issue of a skilled workforce but it is one solution. The program is flexible and can be delivered in the classroom, in the workplace, and in small communities, and will be individually focused. The WRP is also hoping to offer different modes of delivery. To be successful, the Program will have to engage people in remote communities with limited access to jobs.

This program brings together a number of components through 7 phases, a practical approach that will hopefully make a direct link to the goal of employment. The program anchor is the work that HRSDC has done in developing job profiles outlining the essential skills required for various occupations. The TOWES assessment and supporting curriculum will be used to benchmark and upgrade participants’ workplace essential skills. With all of the economic activity currently in the Delta and the positive forecast for the future, the IRC needs to aid beneficiaries to obtain long term career focused employment that will help break the normal “boom and bust cycle” of short term unskilled jobs.