Wuskwatim & Keeyask Training Consortium: Hydro Northern Training and Employment Initiative
The Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership (ASEP) initiative is helping to improve employment opportunities for Aboriginal peoples in Northern Manitoba by providing valuable skills development, on-the-job work experience and long-term employment opportunities for the province's largest hydroelectric development project in two decades.
The Manitoba Hydro expansion project has opened the door to many employment opportunities in Manitoba. Construction of the Wuskwatim dam is scheduled to commence in spring 2008 and is expected to last four years. Construction of the Keeyask dam is expected to begin in 2010 and conclude in 2015.
The Wuskwatim & Keeyask Training Consortium is working to ensure Aboriginal people gain the skills and experience they need to secure employment with this expansion project and other upcoming projects in the hydroelectric development sector. Participants have the opportunity to be trained in designated and non-designated trades, as well as construction support occupations for self-employment in business and management.
The Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership (ASEP) initiative is helping to shape Canada's workforce by directly matching skills development to economic opportunities.
Officially launched in 2003 as an $85-million five-year labour market initiative, ASEP is designed to maximize training and job opportunities in major economic development projects across Canada and provide lasting benefits for Aboriginal communities, families and individuals. It does this by meeting employers' needs and labour market demands for skilled workers in a cross-section of large-scale industrial sectors that include forestry, mining, oil and gas, construction and hydroelectric development.
Between 2005 and 2008, the Wuskwatim & Keeyask Training Consortium, in collaboration with regional partners, will:
- Offer a continuum of training opportunities for up to 1,115 individuals from the five First Nations and other Northern Aboriginal peoples; and
- Create an estimated 794 jobs with the proposed hydroelectric generating stations.
Partners in this initiative include the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, the Tataskweyak Cree Nation, the War Lake Cree Nation, the Fox Lake Cree Nation, the York Factory First Nation, the Manitoba Métis Federation Inc. (MMF), the Manitoba Keewatinook Ininew Okimowin (MKIO), Indian and Northern Affairs (INAC), Western Economic Diversification (WED), Manitoba Hydro, and the Province of Manitoba. In addition, the consortium has created partnerships with more than 20 training and educational institutions, as well as Manitoba's private sector.
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