Indigenous youth leaders engaged to guide and support their peers with skills growth and career opportunities

Skills Council of Canada is pleased to announce a partnership with the Aboriginal Apprenticeship Board of Ontario (AABO) who by working together will support many skills to employment opportunities for indigenous peoples, including the development of an Indigenous Youth Leadership Program (YLP). The YLP will create opportunities for up to ten Indigenous youth in becoming leaders in their communities standing for and supporting their peers in developing their skills and accessing employment opportunities.

The $3,824,399 funding Skills Council of Canada was awarded earlier this year by the Ontario Government’s Skills Development Fund is to support skills to employment for vulnerable individuals that include youth, women, Indigenous peoples, and individuals with disabilities. AABO is working with Skills Council of Canada to help bridge the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous communities to equalize Ontario's education and skills development opportunities. AABO is a proud leader and supporter in Indigenous communities and cares deeply for the well-being of their people. Skills Council of Canada and AABO connected earlier this year because their core values, passions, and vision for greater inclusion of Indigenous peoples into the career prosperity aligned well. They continue to work hand in hand with mutual trust, respect, and a true collaboration of minds.

As Skills Council of Canada and AABO work together to break down barriers, they have taken into consideration the different nuances between the categories of vulnerable people. It is partnerships like this that show the importance of collaboration, united goals, and a drive to see today's youth and tomorrow's leaders succeed. “I am so pleased to have partnered with Skills Council of Canada. Our partnership focuses on working together to create more opportunities for Indigenous people in Ontario, and the Youth Leadership Program is just one notable example of this. Because AABO is a not-for profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of Indigenous people with meaningful careers in the skilled trades, collaboration with organizations such as Skills Council of Canada increases our ability to achieve our goals.” said Sara Monture, CEO Aboriginal Apprenticeship Board of Ontario.

Skills Council of Canada’s Indigenous Youth Leadership Program will serve youth between the ages of 15 to 29 who experience many barriers limiting access to the right resources and ongoing support to achieve gainful employment. This will be carried out by providing youth leaders with leadership training, access to the technologies needed to run within their communities, skills development resources, 1 on 1 mentors and guidance support, a contracted salary, and ongoing engagement with Skills Council of Canada and AABO.

The YLP is designed to enable youth in developing their full leadership potential with support through a variety of opportunities including mentorship, coaching, skills development, networking, and financial resources. Skills Council of Canada felt that it was important to engage with Indigenous youth in the building of the leadership program. Their involvement would ensure that the programs being developed, would capture all that barriers facing youth within their communities so that the program could properly support everyone. By setting up the Youth Leadership Program, Skills Council of Canada also felt it was important to create true collaboration between Indigenous youth and non-indigenous partners, working together for a common goal of equity and inclusion, providing youth leaders with the opportunity to be part of the decision-making for programs that would not only support them, but also their peers and their communities. “By empowering our youth to make decisions and be part of the development of such programs, we can begin to build trust and eventually break down barriers creating even greater opportunities for all Indigenous peoples.” said Brad Loiselle, CEO Skills Council of Canada.

About Skills Council of Canada Inc.

Skills Council of Canada Inc. (Skills Council of Canada) based in Ottawa, Ontario is a social impact focused organization building holistic integrated solutions that support Canada’s Sustainable Development Goals with a prime focus on education-to-employment. Operating in collaboration with Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations, Skills Council of Canada promotes skills development for: the development of good health / well-being, access to quality education and equal employment, gender equality, access to clean drinking water, affordable clean energy, decent work for economic growth, innovative technology ecosystems, infrastructure, reducing inequality, sustainable communities, and developing partnerships required to support these efforts.

Skills Council of Canada’s Collaborative Support Ecosystem (CSE) includes thousands of skills courses, thousands of job role assessments and subject based assessments, access to thousands of one-on-one mentors, tutors, career counselling, wellness coaches, and so much more, all managed on Skills Council of Canada’s robust learning management system. The CSE program also enables Skills Council of Canada to supply their entire offering for free to all participants and partners.

About Aboriginal Apprenticeship Board of Ontario (AABO)

The Aboriginal Apprenticeship Board of Ontario (AABO) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of Aboriginal people in the trades in Ontario.

The AABO is the embodiment of the Ontario-based Aboriginal Apprenticeship Strategy as defined in the document “Supply Meeting Demand.” Its purpose is to ensure that the components of the Strategy are well articulated through a plan of action, which will have measurable and positive results throughout the province.

Learn more about AABO: https://aabo.ca