Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to provide my colleagues with an update on the recent realignment of the School of Community Government, located in the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.
First started in 1999, the School of Community Government was established to suit the unique needs and requirements of community government staff. Programming was designed to be relevant, specific to the mandate of community governments and provide practical experience. Courses were developed in a modular format and designed to be delivered in a community or regional centre, thereby reducing the cost of travel and time away from family, home and place of employment. This approach was unique to the North and provided education and training opportunities not available through other northern institutions.
The model first put in place in 1999 is still in place today and has proven to be extremely effective in removing many of the barriers community government staff had identified in taking advantage of other educational opportunities.
By working with national and territorial partners, the School of Community Government achieves its objectives through an integrated training framework that is based on an assessment of community needs and priorities and delivered to an industry standard. Upon successful completion of training, community government staff participants achieve a recognized certification in their field.
Through a recent realignment Municipal and Community Affairs has established School of Community Government staff positions in four regional centres to continue to improve the school’s ability to build community capacity. These positions are assisting communities by developing focused training plans and through the provision of general support to community governments in establishing human resource development strategies.
As part of the realignment the department is focusing its efforts to support new community government responsibilities and authorities under federal/territorial infrastructure programs and on those areas that support health, safety and infrastructure responsibilities of community governments.
The School of Community Government will continue to work closely with Aurora College on shared course deliveries and instruction, program certification and facility use. This partnership is an important success factor that helps contribute to the goal of improving community capacity.
Members of the 16th Legislative Assembly have emphasized the need for sustainable communities. This strategic realignment of training and development resources will serve to strengthen the skills and abilities of community government staff and in the long term will establish strong, independent communities.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
