SLAAMB

Program Objective:

To provide greater opportunities for area Aboriginal people to participate in district wide employment training initiatives.

Goals:

To provide meaningful, incremental and career development employment opportunities.

Eligible Participants:

Unemployed or career oriented area First Nations members.
Employed seeking to upgrade skills.

Financial Parameters:

If unemployed and eligible for regular funding (CRF) - negotiable rates are:

Up to $9.50/hr for wages
Up to $8.00/hr for training costs per trainee
Up to $50.00/wk for overhead cost per trainee
Up to $5,000.00 for special costs

If unemployed and eligible for E.I. benefits either part 1 or 2 - negotiable rates are:

Up to a maximum of $8.00/hr for wages - training or wage subsidy
Up to $8.00/hr per trainee for training costs
Up to $50.00/wk per trainee for overhead costs
Up to $5,000.00 for specials
Up to a maximum weekly E.I. benefits ($413) either combination of part 1 & 2 or only part 2 while on any "make work" projects.

Employed workers:

• No wage subsidy
• Negotiable training costs up to $20/hour per trainee (covers all training costs)

Other Prerequisites:

That other funding allocations for district-wide training initiatives be dependent upon community support and accountability to those communities.
That training be portable, training received in one community would be recognized in another community.
That district-wide initiatives seek to alleviate geographic and/or cultural disparities in the district.
That training be flexible enough to be delivered in a way that accommodates the trainees circumstances, for example, location, family obligations, traditional pursuits and seasons.
Training received from other sources will be recognized like experimental learning, Elder teachings, Aboriginal teaching methods, culture and languages.
That district-wide initiatives must not create a conflict of interest between First Nations groups.

Criteria for District-wide Initiatives:

That coordinating bodies would be responsible for the following:

• Community support through Band Council Resolution or letter of support from at least 14 out of the 27 First Nations/native organizations represented by SLAAMB.
• Respect Aboriginal values and cultural identities and self-sufficient ideals.
• Assessment of participants to ascertain their educational and literacy levels.
• Aboriginal standards/accreditation, according to community standards.
• Issues of administration, clearing house and coordination.
• Tuition and contract agreements and training.
• Data collection and reporting procedures.
• Support services.
• Other.

That district-wide initiatives will ensure appropriate linkages, where necessary, in the fields of education and training.

Benefits to Individuals:

The utmost benefit to participants in this initiatives is overall personal empowerment and a sense of personal accomplishment which leads to self-worth and increased participation in the general labour market. To improve the employment opportunities and employable skills of the individual.

Benefits to Community:

The community will have a more trained Aboriginal work force pool. Will contribute to the community's healing process and overall human resource planning goals.

Note: This program could be considered to be similar to the "targeted wage subsidy, self-employment assistance, job creation partnerships, employment assistance services, labour market partnerships, research and innovations Employment Benefits/Support Measures established by HRDC" under Part 11 of the EI Act.

It is agreed that this understanding will not in any way limit SLAAMB's flexibility to use this program to meet the needs at the community level.