Bridging the Gap.

Aboriginal youth entering the workforce

We ye all seen the demographics. Saskatchewan's population is aging -- a reflection of the baby boom generation sprouting gray hair -- leaving us with an aging work force. Labor shortages are becoming more, not less, common. We've seen it in health care. We're seeing it in education. We're feeling the pinch in skilled trades. Just about everywhere. Ask a business owner or operator today to cite the biggest threat to their enterprise and they invariably answer: finding talent.

On the other side of the coin is the province's demographics. Unlike most provinces or nations anywhere in the Western world for that matter, Saskatchewan has a second baby boom -- the province's Aboriginal population.

On the surface, this matrix is pretty simple. we'll need plenty of workers in the coming years as the boomers -- who are just starting to reach retirement age -- hit for the links in really big numbers. At the same time, we have a young and rapidly growing Aboriginal population. This two should work, right? As one generation steps aside, another is poised to fill the gap.

Well, that's the pure numbers of the story.

But, as in any human endeavor, there's always a catch.

For Deb Schmidt, owner of Yorkton's Bonanza Steakhouse, the numbers made the answer to her human resource questions obvious.

When asked by a local First Nations business leader how many First Nations people she had on her payroll the answer was none. It was a revelation.

"My staff should reflect my customer base," says Schmidt who also is past-president of the Women Business Owners of Canada and an advisor to the Royal Bank and the federal Revenue agency. "Why wouldn't I have that mix on staff?"

As she began to explore the issue further, her first realization was that no First Nations people had applied for a job.

"My company had to change how it recruited."

She asked her 43-member staff -- many of them young people -- to encourage their friends to submit resumes. And she struck up a relationship with the Yorkton Tribal Council, posting job openings at YTC offices as well as the local high school. It worked.

Young people began seeking employment and she took them on. That's when the second stage of the learning process began.

Calling the First Nations labor pool potential both a challenge and opportunity, Schmidt found herself learning things about First Nations' culture while teaching the young applicants about the work world.

Pay packets for her employees include an allowance for cleaning and pressing their work clothes. When some didn't get it done, she found they hadn't ever been taught to iron. Soon she had an iron and ironing board in the staff room and was teaching. Not exactly traditional on-the-job training but it was a part of the process of developing what she calls "a whole new approach to protocols."

"There are frustrations' she advises, noting that turnover rates were an issue in the early stages. Providing more lenient rules to young people who may lack certain life skills is not an answer, she offers. Treating employees differently creates divisions.

"It has to be an understanding between employee and employer. It's not just an employer changing their business to suit. It's about helping people work in a common environment.

And she's not about to abandon the plan. "I just believe it's something we need to do. These kids are interested in working. You're hiring them to do a task. It's just a matter of hiring them for the job and helping them maintain it."

Success Story

One of the true home runs in this new workforce environment is found in the province's construction industry.

What has emerged as a broad partnership of the private and public sectors began with plans by the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College to erect a new campus adjacent to the University of Regina. It is usual for First Nations leaders to advance the case for First Nations employment on all public sector construction jobs and even more so on ones involving First Nations institutions or organizations. SIFC was no different.

PCL Construction, a firm founded in southern Saskatchewan nearly a century ago and now among the largest contractors on the continent, was selected to build the new SIFC building. PCL has actively pursued linkages with the First Nations community; including a joint venture with one tribal council, and understood the desire to fill jobs on the SIFC work site with First Nations people.

As it turned out, delays in assembling the funding required to finance the SIFC project, gave PCL and the industry time to construct a program that is a bridge spanning the gulf between the mainstream economy and the possibilities offered by the growing number of Aboriginal young people.

"Our commitment to building the facility included training and employment," says PCL's Dave Marriott, project manager on the SIFC site.

The timing of the contract award coincided with growing concerns in the industry over a looming labor shortage and the concept of First Nations or Aboriginal hiring provided a ready solution. "All of the right pieces at the right time," Marriott suggests.

The initiative resulted in the formation of a program called Construction Careers Regina (CCR). It now is a broadly based partnership including: the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology, the Saskatchewan Construction Association, Bosgoed Project Consultants, the provincial government's Post-Secondary Education and Skills Training, the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission, the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Council of Canada, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples and FSIN. The Regina branch, started three years ago, proved so successful that a Saskatoon arm has recently been added with the Saskatoon Construction Association and Saskatoon Tribal Council adding their names to the partnership.

Historically when a First Nations construction project moved off the drawing board to the construction phase, contractors could rely on local Chiefs and Councils to assist in identifying potential employees. Since Regina has neither a reserve not a tribal council, CCR was created.

"The partnerships were important and the industry buy-in came at the front end," says CCR project manager Allan Page.

The program targets First Nations and Aboriginal individuals, those on social assistance and those drawing employment insurance benefits. The idea is to move them into long-term construction employment.

A key element in making that happen is training.

Page beams about this industry-led initiative. He and job coach Al Dufour have been at the forefront of the project which was originally based on identifying and moving 100 individuals into the workforce.

Today, the number of people working on local construction sites is closer to 500 on a daily basis. Approximately 85 per cent are First Nations people. "Of all the people we've taken in on this project, 57 per cent were on social assistance when they came to us," says Page. "The original target was 50 per cent."

As many as 50 job sites call CCR on a monthly basis.

"There's just a lot of guys going to work every day," offers Marriott.

"We entered at a good time for demand for skilled workers," notes Page who reports that some new entrants to the project participate in a 12-week Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology course designed to prepare them for the working world while the majority go straight to a job site.

"Many people believe these guys can't find work because of a lack of training or education. In many cases it's just inability to connect with a job," adds Page. "We get them to work and then look for upgrading opportunities for them through additional training. We have no training money in our own project -- we rely on existing programs, particularly from the province."

Training includes carpentry programs offered through SIAST along with courses in steel stud and drywalling, painting and concrete forming.

The ultimate goal is to guide the workers through basic training programs and into apprenticeships.

There are no wage subsidies or special benefits for employers who participate in the program. According to industry participants, the jobs being filled by these candidates are not minimum wage positions.

"These are all good paying jobs. The workers who go out of here are just good workers," adds Page. One group of four First Nations journeymen carpenters were directed to a job in Colorado at a wage of $25 (U.S.) an hour. It worked out so well they were offered subsequent positions in Oregon and California. Even in short-term, seasonal jobs, Page argues, the workers are more experienced and prepared to pursue a subsequent position.

One unique element of the program that has contributed to its success is something called a job coach who acts as a liaison between worker and employer and is a counsellor and guide for the unemployed or under-employed individual entering the project. According to Page, having a First Nations fill this role makes a big difference.

"He knows the community. He was a successful carpenter and knows how to do it," Page concludes.

"Normally you have a 30 per cent success rate in hiring," notes PCL's Marriott. "Now we're 70 per cent successful and we've got people in apprenticeship programs as a result."

CCR and now CCS in Saskatoon has opened the door to two things: a potential talent pool for employers and a pathway to the workforce for the unemployed. Marriott and PCL have no hesitation in recommending the initiative.

"Absolutely. I'm really thrilled how it has come together."