Workforce talent recruitment and retention is one of the most urgent issues facing the Atlantic region. In the next decade, the Canadian economy is expected to offer significant opportunities for employment. Those opportunities reflect both Canada’s emergence as a knowledge economy and the impact of retirement from the workforce of the baby boomer generation. An expectation exists that future demand for a skilled labour force will be serviced, in part, by an increasing Indigenous workforce.
“The statistics documenting the problems experienced by aboriginal communities across Canada are well-known. Poverty, high unemployment, lack of infrastructure and suitable housing are all endemic to aboriginal communities. Despite this, there are many aboriginal success stories – communities that have gotten fully engaged in economic activities, exploiting renewable and non-renewable resources for the benefit of their people.”
“This study highlights the factors that contribute to successful wealth and employment creation in 10 Aboriginal communities. Identifying strategies for job and wealth creation is important, not only because these communities have traditionally suffered from high unemployment, but also because the size of the Aboriginal working-age population is expected to increase, amplifying the problem.”
"Investing in disadvantaged young people is one of the rare public policies with no equity-efficiency tradeoff. Based on the methodology developed in Sharpe, Arsenault and Lapointe (2007), we estimate the effect of increasing the educational attainment level of Aboriginal Canadians on labour market outcome and output up to 2026. We build on these projection to estimate the potential effect of eliminating educational and social gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people on government spending and government revenues using population and economic projections to 2026."
"Has the labour market situation of Aboriginal people in Canada been improving over the last several years? This paper uses data from the 1996 and 2001 censuses to present comprehensive, factual answers to this question. The paper looks at two main indicators of labour market activity – unemployment and participation rates – past, present and future. It reviews the labour market position of Aboriginal people in comparison to the general population in the provinces and territories, in cities with large Aboriginal populations, and on and off reserve. "
"Using data from the 1996 Public Use Microdata File (PUMF) on individuals, this paper examines labour force activity of women in Canada, focussing on the effects of familial status and household structure to determine whether these factors have similar elasticities among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women. We found that labour force activity varied greatly by Aboriginal Status. In general, Registered Indians were less likely to be employed but more likely to be unemployed than Other Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals.
Hundreds of jobs are available in the Canadian Forces as members of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and in the Department of National Defence as a civilian public-service employee. Special recruiting programs are offered to Aboriginal people who are interested in full-time employment with the Canadian Forces.
