As part of the education program, we work closely with other departments to meet the employment and training needs of our nation. The income support and social assistance programs have access to funds each year to assist on reserve members with various types of employment and training opportunities. Also part of this programming is the Pre-Employment Success program which aims to provide training directly linked to employment, on- and off-reserve. This program works closely with the Touchwood Agency Tribal Council, George Gordon Urban Office and Wicehtowak Urban Services. We provide these opportunities with the goal in mind that these opportunities will lead to full time employment and sustainable self-sufficiency.
Funding for off-reserve band members is in short supply and is provided mainly through access to grants and supports from other development corporations. Our ability to assist off reserve members through these offerings is very limited due to the fact that there are many more resources available off-reserve for people to access career and academic advising, funding supports, and connections to employment and training. We still encourage people to reach out to us for information regarding accessing these resources, we will be glad to help if we can.
Part of our current mandate is to develop an employment database which includes resumes, education levels, training achievements, skills and abilities and employment history. We intend to use this information as a means of creating a more direct link to the industries seeking employees and to those seeking partnerships for training and employment development. It is useful to have an inventory of the skills and abilities of our band members, to be used as a resource and as an inventory of pride in the accomplishments of our people.
