Corporations haven’t utilized the city’s urban Aboriginal workforce because of a lack of communication.
That’s the message Brenda Nadjiwan, a co-ordinator of the Aboriginal Workforce Participation, told a crowd of people at the Aboriginal Workforce Resource conference at the Victoria Inn Wednesday afternoon.
The one-day conference provided information on employment, education and training for urban Aboriginals.
Nadjiwan said many companies have misconceptions about Aboriginals, believing that many are located in remote communities and are inaccessible.
What many fail to realize is that there’s a huge urban Aboriginal population, she said.
“I think it’s a matter of sharing information and getting to know each other,” she said. “I think there are a lot of misconceptions out in the corporate world. I really encourage Aboriginal people to get to know the corporate community and I encourage the corporate community to get to know us.”
Nadjiwan added that education should remain an important focus as well to ensure that students are qualified for jobs.
Sharon Smith-Baxter, chair of the Thunder Bay Urban Aboriginal Strategy Employment and Training Circle, said they gathered educators, trainers and employers to inform them about the Aboriginal workforce that’s available.
Smith-Baxter said they had workshops for those in attendance that were students and unemployed and who wanted to go into professions such as nursing or mining.
“I don’t think it’s so much difficult for Aboriginals to find work but they don’t know the steps to take in order to get into those particular positions,” Smith-Baxter said.
“Having conferences such as this allows them to gain that knowledge. Right now we’re focusing on the Thunder Bay community itself and what job opportunities are there for them now.”
