Employment opportunities will go a long way toward changing the picture of poverty in rural and Northern First Nations communities in Manitoba. Mendelson (2004) discussed the complexity of labour market planning and stated, “Federal coordination on the ground in the Prairie Provinces involves at least six major federal departments” (p. 40). However, it currently appears that First Nations communities have few partnerships beyond Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Mendelson described the departments that need to work together:

Human Resources and Skills Development, Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Social Development, Industry Canada, Health Canada and Heritage Canada. While there have been attempts to get these departments to work better together in the regions, they are all to varying degrees “stove-piped” and must report back to Ottawa for any substantive change. (p.40)

Review the Human Resource Policies for Community Employees

Rural and northern communities need to review their human resource practices for employees, including the EC. These communities need to link with the provincial government to implement standards and guidelines that are appropriate to the skills needed to enhance employability in rural and northern locations. ECs need to be properly recruited and included in the planning process. Both these activities will increase retention of the employee. Participants who work for the Province of Manitoba talked about the need for human resource development in the First Nations communities they visit. Participant E talked about regional meetings where “very few of the same people remain at the table, how can we retain people and set realistic goals?” Peruniak (2004) reported on career development in rural regions and agreed with the research participants, as seen in the conclusions from that report:

It looks quite clear from this sample of practitioners that some of the major challenges facing them are short-term solutions to unemployment … a narrow definition to “career,” trouble getting out of the office to develop collaborations in the local community, and a role that reacts to problems rather than prevents them.… These frustrations are aggravated by the perceived lack of a voice in the policies that affect the role of the career professional. (p. 5)