(June 19, 2013) - Keynote address to the Canadian Institute’s Arctic Logistics and Infrastructure Conference

(Check against delivery)

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today about meeting the challenges of the North’s labour force. We are committed to a vision of strong individuals, families and communities sharing the benefits and responsibilities of a unified, environmentally sustainable and prosperous Northwest Territories.

Our economy in the Northwest Territories is hot.   We’re seeing more activity in mining, oil and gas exploration, energy, the fur trade, and our tourism industry.  We are seeing attention from investors around the world, and we are working to facilitate those partnerships and investments.

A strong economy creates sustainable, vibrant communities. It provides jobs and opportunities so people can avoid poverty. Our government’s investments in education and training help ensure our residents can take advantage of the opportunities available to them. 

We are seeing the benefits of these investments. We have the highest employment rate in Canada, at more than 70%. This is our highest rate in three years.  We have the highest average incomes, lowest tax rates and fastest growing GDP in Canada, and our education spending is three times the national average per student.  So we are in pretty exciting times.

Now we need to make sure we have access, training and opportunities for our Northern workforce.

We have to match skills to demand, and provide support and training for our residents. This strengthens and diversifies our economy. And there is a range of supports. Some of our residents need skills and employment opportunities. Others need to work on their well-being and health before they can begin training and skills development.

We have an entrenched residential schools legacy in the North, which means some of our Aboriginal families and communities are dealing with loss of identity, culture and traditional knowledge.  We must put the supports in place to address these generational impacts.  As we move to address the infrastructure and industry needs emerging from our growing economy, we have been doing the same for our people.

One of the elements we are using is our recently launched new teachers’ resource; The Residential School System in Canada: Understanding the Past – Seeking Reconciliation – Building Hope for Tomorrow.  In partnership with the Government of Nunavut and the Legacy of Hope, this resource is a part of the Northern Studies curriculum. Students learn about the history of residential schools, from the original schools built in the 1870s through to the 1990s. They talk about the challenges faced by the nearly one hundred and fifty thousand Aboriginal students who attended these schools across Canada.  They hear the voices of survivors, explore the difficult truths of residential schools, and focus on the path to reconciliation and healing.  This resource has stimulated some much-needed conversations among our youth, and shines a light on some of the issues we continue to face today.

This is one of the reasons our education spending is three times the national average. We are addressing issues that are deep rooted, and our government investments must provide a strong foundation for our children to succeed. We need to get it right from the start.

Our government is committed to early childhood development. We are collaborating with stakeholders, learning from experts and the newest research.  The most critical years in a child’s life are from conception to age five.  A child’s capacity to learn, create, love and trust are all determined during this time. New research shows the link between proper care during a child’s early years and their future success is even greater than previously thought.  Children with a good start are less likely to fall behind in school and get in trouble with the law. As adults, they are less likely to depend on social services, live in poverty, be homeless or have issues with addictions.  This will ensure our children have a strong foundation for the rest of their lives, build successful, healthy lives, and take advantage of the opportunities in the North.

In this last school year, we introduced a new kindergarten curriculum, focusing on play-based learning.  It builds on the research and from our early childhood development work, and introduces the child into the education system.

One of our greatest developing projects is our Education Renewal Initiative.  Along with other jurisdictions across Canada and worldwide, we are following the research and exploring how children learn.  We are currently in our engagement phase with stakeholders across the North, and set to launch a public campaign.  This will take us from an outcomes based education system into a competencies based system, supporting and encouraging our children’s strengths and stimulating their learning processes and capacities.  Education is a primary contributor to the mental and physical health of our people, strengthens our economy, and enables our youth to make informed choices about their future.

We have some exciting and meaningful ways to support the development of a strong, educated and knowledgeable Northern population. A workforce that can take advantage of the opportunities our growing economy provides.

Some students and adults need support and training to take full advantage of these opportunities. We have many programs and partnerships in place to help them achieve their goals.

Our adult and post-secondary programs, in partnership with Aurora College, provide a wide scope of life skills, training, certification and degree programs.  These include Adult Literacy and Basic Education, the Adult Recognition Model, Financial Literacy,  Community Literacy Development, and Targeted Initiative for Older Workers programs. They all provide a  foundation to help adults gain key skills and take the steps to upgrade their education and obtain employment.  These programs contribute to some of our recruitment and retention initiatives. Adult students quickly see where upgrading, training and certification can take them.

We oversee the maintenance and delivery of designated trade and occupation certification training programs. The Red Seal endorsement for apprentices represents a standard of excellence in a trade. Together, we are developing a skilled northern workforce.

The Skilled Trades and Occupation Certification unit is an industry-driven partnership that ensures a highly skilled workforce in 53 designated trades and 25 occupations.  The program works with the territorial Apprenticeship, Trade and Occupation Certification Board, which advises on industry needs and ensures industry standards are met.  As well, it has a close partnership with Skills Canada which promotes careers in skilled trades and technologies.

Over this past year, we are extremely pleased to see 450 apprentices and apprentices-in-training in the NWT, the highest number we have ever certified.  Of these, 54% are Aboriginal, and nearly 10% are female.  The top five trades that apprentices are becoming certified in are electrician, carpenter, plumber, heavy equipment technician, and automotive service technician, which will fill many of the needs in our growth industries.

Through our Career Development Officers and regional Service Centres, we focus on career counseling and the delivery of career and employment development programs in the NWT.  We conduct labour force development research and evaluations to determine the success of our programs and services.  We also manage the Temporary Foreign Worker and NWT Nominee Programs in partnership with Citizenship and Immigration Canada. These programs enable employers to fill positions that cannot be filled by the territorial or national labour force.

Our partnerships are key to leveraging opportunities and initiatives in our workforce development, and ensuring that Northern residents have access to training, education and employment.  We have established collaborative approaches to skills development, and matching skills with people.  One of the pivotal partnership structures we have in place across the territory is our Regional Training Committees.  These committees identify and coordinate training and promote employment opportunities to the people in their region.

The Beaufort Delta has two committees to plan and deliver programs that meet the needs of the region.  One group shares information on programs and services, and plans and coordinates career and employment workshops, activities and events.  The other plans overall training needs across the region. Both committees are collaborative partnerships between our government, regional governments, and the local school and Aurora College Campus.

In the past year, the Beaufort Delta committees focused on mining needs and life skills training, like Building Essential Skills, Work Experience, and Skills Development.  These programs assist individuals to explore and understand self-employment.  The committees also provided wage subsidies for both adult and youth workers to offset employer training costs, conducted safety training on behalf of the Sahtu to prepare students for work in the oil and gas industry, and provided heavy equipment operator training.

In the Sahtu, where we are seeing increased activity in oil and gas exploration, the Sahtu Regional Training Partnership Committee includes members from the GNWT, Aboriginal organizations and councils, community representatives from Tulita, Deline, Colville Lake and Norman Wells, the Sahtu Divisional Board of Education and Aurora College, and industry partners Imperial Oil Resources and Akita Drilling.

This past year, the Sahtu committee focused on regional safety training, pre-employment readiness programs, class 3 and 7 drivers training, on-the-job training, professional development, pre-trades preparation, and numerous youth and adult wage subsidies.

Here in the North Slave, our Regional Training Partnership includes our government, the  Tlicho Government, Akaitcho Territory Government, Yellowknives Dene First Nations, Lutselk’e Dene First Nations, as well as community organizations, industry and Aurora College.   The North Slave also has a seat on the Mine Training Society Board of Directors, to determine the skills required and needs for the mining industry in the NWT.

Our North Slave committee focused its efforts on mining needs, with a Memorandum of Understanding with the three operating diamond mines in the North, as well as the Introduction to Underground Mining program delivered through Aurora College and supported by the Mine Training Society, which was recently granted $6 million from the Federal Government to continue providing invaluable support and training for the mining industry.  The committee also assisted with delivery of pre-employment programs, academic upgrading, wellness and readiness programs, support and training for persons with disabilities, literacy programs, on-the-job training, self-employment, and dedicated programs for Heavy Equipment Operator, Defensive Driving, and Recreation Coordinators.

Our South Slave Regional Labour Market Planning Partnership includes membership from our government, the Akaitcho, Metis and Dehcho, the Mine Training Society, Aurora College and the South Slave Divisional Education Council.  This group delivered training like Heavy Equipment Operator, Mineral Processing Operator, and Basic Bookkeeping, Computerized Accounting, and other office knowledge programs, and Trades Awareness.  It provided support and training to persons with disabilities and their support organizations, as well as support for youth through career counseling, wage subsidies and on-the-job training.

Finally, the Dehcho Regional Training Committee membership includes the Dehcho First Nations, Mine Training Society, Aurora College, and the GNWT.  They oversee and manage training and employment opportunities and related projects, including youth job readiness, life skills for men, literacy, camp cook, diamond driller, office administration, personal and business financial management, building trades, and a suite of safety training courses.  It also created partnerships for service and program delivery with several communities, and technical training apprenticeship contracts.

As you can tell, our regions, training committees, partnerships and stakeholders are extremely focused on the needs of their residents. They understand the gaps in readiness, skill sets and abilities of their people.  They know how to listen to their regional residents, where to provide the services and programs to fill those gaps, and how to create a viable and sustainable workforce. Formal labour force needs assessments tell us where we need to focus our attention.

Our Territory is unique in many ways.  You have heard me talk about our residents’ needs, our efforts to meet those needs, and the steady growth in our economy.  Many of our residents live in small communities, with limited access to many of the amenities we take for granted, like year-round road access. They deal with added costs of fruits and vegetables delivered by air, lack of reliable internet access, and no banks in communities.  However, many prefer to stay close to the land of their ancestors, their Elders, traditions and culture.  They want to have a successful and sustainable life. That’s where we come in with the services and supports we and our partners provide. Training opens doors to employment and more training. This builds their capacity for future skills development and mobility, if they choose.

We are poised to sign a new socio-economic agreement, also referred to as an S-E-A, with De Beers Canada’s new Gahcho Kue diamond mine.  This agreement underscores commitments De Beers Canada and the GNWT made during the environmental assessment of the proposed mine.  The SEA addresses employment and training opportunities, business procurement opportunities, social and cultural well-being, and reporting, monitoring and adaptive management tools.  This project will provide training and employment opportunities to members of Aboriginal organizations nearest to the mine, as well as other Northerners. We want to see an NWT where our people can thrive and be healthy, where a well-managed environment contributes to our economic well-being and quality of life, and where a strong economy provides jobs and opportunities for our communities and money for government programs.

A recent collaborative partnership was struck in the Beaufort Delta to prepare for the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway infrastructure project. This represents more than improved infrastructure for the small community.  For the first time, community members in Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk will have year-round road access to one another.  This is the first leg of the Mackenzie Valley Highway, a long-term priority of our government that will provide new benefits to all of our people.

We are working with a number of partners on this project,  including  the Departments of Transportation, Industry, Tourism and Investment, Aurora College, the two main contractors for the project, ,Aboriginal governments and the community government. Together, we will develop a Community-Based Human Resource Strategy which will identify the jobs required for and related to the project and match people, skills and jobs.   This strategy will also determine,  deliver and cost-share the required training,  to ensure local residents  are able to take advantage of  employment opportunities and gain transferable skills that can be applied to other jobs.  There is already a workforce trained as heavy equipment operators ready to work, as this has been a focus of the regional training committees in the past few years. This project will also create new training opportunities such as wildlife and environmental monitors.

Finally, we are working with the Mine Training Society and the Governments of the Yukon and Nunavut on a broad labour market strategy proposal to CanNor.  We will be conducting a skills inventory from a territorial and industry perspective that will provide us with an overarching sense of our labour market and skills gaps in mining, projecting 10 years.

I have provided you with a significant amount of information today, and I welcome any questions.  I do want to emphasize that our people in the NWT are our greatest resource.  Our communities face many challenges of remoteness, access and cultural distinctions, and we, as a government, must respect their unique requirements, while providing them with the same opportunities that residents in the larger centres enjoy.

In the North, one size does not fit all as I have tried to describe to you today.  We have many moving parts in a vast geographic area.  We also have many dedicated people and groups working to maintain these moving parts, and ensuring our residents have the programs, services and supports to meet their needs. Everybody in the NWT has a stake in making this a healthy, strong and prosperous territory.

The NWT’s robust and burgeoning economy, and the possibilities it presents, is enabling  the Government of the Northwest Territories to work with communities, Aboriginal and other governments, agencies, not-for-profits, industry, businesses and others to meet the needs of and maximize education, training and employment opportunities for all Northerners.

Without these partnerships, we would not be able to reach the significant milestones we are seeing.

We have great hopes for the future, to ensure a sustainable and healthy economy, that our people continue to have opportunities for training and employment, and that the many different initiatives across government continue to work towards a common goal: a healthy, educated, sustainable and prosperous North.

Thank you for your attention, Masi.