January 17, 2017 – First Nations people in Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula area will be able to get the skills they need for energy sector jobs, according to the province, thanks to the funding of a new training program.

The Skills Ready Aboriginal People Project is being delivered in partnership by the Huronia Area Aboriginal Management Board (HAAMB), Georgian College and Bruce Power. The program provides academic upgrading and hands-on work experience in the skilled trades. The objective is to prepare students for entry-level jobs in the energy sector and “aims to be a foundation for students to gain meaningful job opportunities that would allow them to participate in the local economy”, the province states

The program is currently being offered to members of the Saugeen First Nation and the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation. Georgian College is delivering the 20-week Skills Ready course at its Owen Sound campus, and the project’s second intake began on October 31, 2016. It runs until early spring 2017.

“Through the help of this program, I completed my GED and was successfully granted a full time position as a high-voltage electrical apprentice in the nuclear field,” says Pernell Jones, a participant, of the Skills Ready Aboriginal People Project. “I have now been working three months. I now have a career that will provide us with much more then needed to support my family.”

HAAMB will receive $248,556 to implement its Skills Ready Aboriginal Peoples Project, through the Aboriginal Economic Development Fund (AEDF).