The second area of recommendations is directed at the government of Manitoba. They have a dual roll relating to recommendations that will enhance the effectiveness of the EC, as they are both an employer of the EC, and they also fund some of the employment-related programs in Manitoba. There are three overall recommendations that relate to the employment systems that the EC works within. The recommendations connect to the findings in the Workplace Conditions integral chart (see Table 4). Many of the human resource issues, including leadership, are included in this area. The ECs thoroughly discussed their workplaces and made many suggestions linking directly to job-related activities. The sub question related to this finding area is, “What elements of the employment systems for rural and northern EC’s are the most helpful in making the Counsellor feel more effective?”
The following recommendations will support ECs to enhance their effectiveness in helping clients with multiple barriers achieve job success.
The Government of Manitoba can take a leadership role by measuring the impact of career development services in the province and sharing the findings across government branches. The provincial government is a large organization with many different branches and departments, each reporting to a Ministry area. This project related most directly to the Minister of Advanced Education and Training, and Employment Training Services (ETS), the department that deals directly with employment services for the province. The structure of Advanced Education and Training changed during this project, and a new area was created called, Competitiveness, Training and Trade (CTT). ETS is still essentially the same as before, but can be located under CTT in the Government. ETS is not the only provincial government department impacted by implementing these recommendations, but they are the contact point for these findings and can best support the EC by implementing the suggested human resource recommendations. Many of the broader recommendations are directed at ETS, but with the proposition that they share with other provincial departments in the long-term planning suggested. The outreach and application of employment support services must go beyond government employees and extend to the sub-contracted service providers in the rural, northern, and remote communities throughout the province. Mendelson (2004) addressed the uniqueness of the Aboriginal workforce in the Prairie Provinces and suggested, “Federal Aboriginal policies should be looked at through a ‘prairie lens,’ as the Prairie Provinces will be disproportionately affected by any changes in federal policy” (p. 38).