A Vancouver employment services society is getting a $21-million boost from the federal government for its Indigenous training program.
Federal Employment and Workforce Development Minister Randy Boissonnault announced Thursday (March 7) that Aboriginal Community Career Employment Services Society (ACCESS) in Vancouver would be getting $21 million of the $170 million of funding through the Skills and Partnership Fund.
ACCESS will use the funding to help urban Indigenous people overcome employment barriers, while also getting the skills needed to complete technical training in a skilled trade. The ultimate goal is Red Seal journeyperson status.
Lynn White, ACCESS president, said programs like this not only address skills shortages, but “also contribute to the empowerment of our Indigenous peoples through meaningful employment.”
According to Statistics Canada, the employment rate of Indigenous people in January 2024 was 57.3 per cent. That’s compared to 61.6 per cent overall.
ACCESS was one of 24 projects selected across the country. The projects look to train Indigenous workers for jobs in the green economy, the information and communications technology sector, the infrastructure sector, the blue economy and the Indigenous public sector.
The federal government first put out a call for proposals in 2022.