Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m just going to follow up from my Member’s statement today with questions to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment in regards to this very successful program that’s run through the NWT Skills Canada division here.
I just want to ask the Minister, does the department, working in conjunction with NWT Skills Canada, have some type of database on the successes or successful candidates or participants that obtain a job in the trade or skill that they practice and won a gold medal for, successfully obtained a job with the GNWT or industry? Do the Minister and his department have some type of database for that currently? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Through the Skills Canada office, they’re supported by federal and also our territorial government through the ECE department and industry through program and event sponsors. So this is a very successful initiative pertaining to access trades programming throughout the Northwest Territories, nationally and also international stages. So we are working closely with Skills Canada to obtain the data that they would have on those individuals that are entering the trades programming. We have our own information as well. We sponsor those individuals through labour market agreements. So we try and keep data on those individuals, but we exchange with the Skills Canada organization. Mahsi.
Thank you. I think this is an opportunity right now for government to maybe step up and take it to the next level in terms of looking at how we can think outside the box and look at all our successful candidates that have won gold medals at the territorial level and who are currently going to be representing Team NWT at the national competition here.
Would the Minister implement some type of mentorship supporting program for all of our gold medal winners or all our participants who are currently at the national level, whether they’re in Grade 9 or Grade 12, and start supporting them through the years so that at the end of their high school that they might be able to take on a career within the industry or within the GNWT or within the communities back home? Would the Minister look at creating some type of follow-up mentorship program so that we can support these successful, skilled individuals? Youth actually? Thank you.
Mahsi. First I’d just like to congratulate those individuals in the past that have obtained gold medal level, a silver medal and also bronze at the national or international level and for the Northwest Territories as well. So we have to congratulate those individuals for their hard work and continue to support them. This is an area that, federally, Canada’s Job Grant is coming and Labour Market Agreement and Labour Market Development Agreement, there are changes coming. What the Member is referring to, if we can integrate that into our discussions with the federal, how we can achieve those goals, sponsoring those individuals at the gold level. So, this is an area that we need to discuss with Skills Canada and other partners out there. Mahsi.
Thank you. I know the Minister mentioned the Canada Job Grant. I think that’s a great opportunity, a great program and as long as we can start getting by and promoting that program, but we do have some youth that are down there in Grade 9, Grade 10 and this is a great opportunity for government to step up now and say, in two or three years you’re going to be either going to post-secondary or even getting some type of career, as a government we’re willing to help you, support you, because sometimes some of these individuals might not have high math skills, high chemistry skills, but the trade and the skill that they’re in right now, they’re succeeding in that. As a government we need to enhance that, encourage that and continue to motivate them to make the skills. So that’s where I’m coming from in terms of recognizing these gold medal winners.
I guess the next question is that if the government isn’t going to be stepping up, would the government start making agreements, whether its socio-economic agreements or working with the mines, other industry, to help support them to recognize our gold medal winners, our Team NWT that’s at the nationals right now to take on this type of program and support them for the remainder of their high school years? Thank you.
Mahsi. I agree with the Member that these individuals should be recognized and supported, and that’s what we’re doing through our apprenticeship occupation certification. We’ve committed $70,000 to support Skills Canada per year. Also, in 2013-14 we provided $140,000 for Skills Canada. We’ll continue to provide those types of sponsorships for these individuals to succeed beyond just the trades access. Someday we want them to be a journeyman ticket holder so they can come back to our Northwest Territories and contribute to our society. So, yes, those are areas that we need to discuss with the new initiative that’s coming down from the feds, and the industry has been in discussion as well. So once that information is available, I will be sharing it with the standing committee. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess the last question, we’ve got a lot of these youth that have the summers off and they might be looking for summer jobs.
Would the Minister possibly work with our Minister of Human Resources to look at developing some type of summer employment program, especially for the gold medal winners, so we can promote them, get them right into the working system and possibly create some type of program? Is he willing to work with the Minister of Human Resources to develop some type of program where our Team NWT national winners would be able to possibly be a priority to get some of these jobs in the summer so they can start practising that skill, that trade that they’ve excelled at? Thank you.
I will commit to working with the Department of Human Resources to establish that. Not only there, but there’s also the Housing Corporation when it comes to plumbing and different trade areas and industry as well. So we do have connections within our department and other departments as well. We need to develop a plan of action towards this so we can focus on those individuals who are in the gold, silver and bronze areas, so they can hopefully achieve their dream as well. Mahsi.
MR. SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
