YELLOWKNIFE (September 27, 2013) – Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Jackson Lafferty attended a provincial/territorial labour market ministers meeting this week to discuss the importance of maintaining critical funding under existing labour market agreements.

Established in 2008, these agreements provide supports, training and opportunities for underrepresented groups in labour markets, including youth, persons with disabilities, Aboriginal people, recent immigrants, social assistance recipients and long-term unemployed and older workers.  The federal government is proposing a new Canada Job Grant program to replace the labour market agreements when they expire in April 2014. Premier Bob McLeod and his provincial and territorial counterparts expressed concerns during Council of the Federation meetings in July that the new program would compromise the progress and success achieved by the current labour market programs, including effects on small and medium businesses.

“Our government has a vision of a strong, prosperous territory that provides opportunities to all Northwest Territories residents in their communities and regions,” said Minister Lafferty. “Access to the right training and other supports ensures NWT residents are able to take advantage of current and emerging opportunities. To best meet the needs of our residents, we have to be able to design flexible programs that take into account our geographic and cultural diversity, range of partners, unique opportunities and needs and the legacy of intergenerational impacts from residential schools.”

The current labour market agreement between the Northwest Territories and Canada provides critical funding for flexible programs to assist northerners to acquire the basic skills necessary to improve their employability and participation in the territorial economy.

“We have seen very promising results from our labour market investments,” said Minister Lafferty.  “Up to 66% of clients were working three months after receiving training and, in critical areas like our smaller communities where opportunities are limited, this is significant. I look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with all governments to ensure that every Northerner can acquire the skills they need to be successful in today's labour market.”

Provincial and territorial labour ministers released a report this week entitled Building Skills Together that proves programs delivered under current labour market agreements are successful in preparing Canadians to enter the workforce.

Minister Lafferty will be engaging with industry and communities in the coming weeks to discuss the proposed Canada Job Grant.

For more information, read the Building Skills Together report here.

For more information:

Jacqueline McKinnon
Manager, Communications and Public Affairs
Education, Culture and Employment
Government of the Northwest Territories
Tel: 867-920-6222
Email: Jacqueline_mckinnon@gov.nt.ca