Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with NWT communities reeling from the news that Aurora College is giving up on community learning centres, I wanted to highlight a successful grassroots literacy and essential skills initiative for young adults that is set to expand. It is a youth employment skills partnership between the NWT Literacy Council and Ilitaqsiniq based in Nunavut and is supported by federal funding. It's designed to help youth aged 16 to 29 gain essential work skills and gain more confidence in their communication and language skills. A brandnew cohort is set to start within the next few months.
This program is designed to break harmful cycles. Some of the participants are referred through the justice system by the wellness court. Staff at the literacy council work closely with the wellness court team to provide wraparound supports for participants, such as mental health supports, even childcare funding is offered. There's a four-week-long classroom portion followed by a two-week work placement. But even the classroom portion is focused on the practical and experiential. It includes on-the-land activities to build culturally based skills and certificates in things like first aid, WHMIS, driver education, and food safe. Work placement examples include local government, catering companies, electrical contractors, hotels, airlines, or work with trail clearing crews or construction crews. The program provides job-specific clothing and safety gear as well as stipends for the youth attending. It's flexible and shaped around the interests and skills of each cohort.
The best part is that many of the previous youth participants have been able to keep the jobs from their original work placement and have been working there ever since or even moved into higher levels of employment with additional job specific training. Some participants have returned to or entered post-secondary education, such as early learning and childcare or academic upgrading. With the current funding, the plan is to run the program in Yellowknife in the next two years and then offer it in a few other communities in year 3.
Mr. Speaker, this is an example of a model that is working, so let's support nonprofits like the NWT Literacy Council to do more of this, expand it to more communities, and replace the harmful cycles with positive cycles rooted in self-confidence and the pride of being able to support yourself and your family. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member from Great Slave.
