In 2012, Northern Development approved $500,000 for an aboriginal mining training program designed to combat the skilled worker shortage forecast for the industry in years ahead. The British Columbia Aboriginal Mentoring and Training Association (AMTA) developed a training program that provided aboriginals with a hand-up to launch rewarding careers in the resource sector, notably the mining industry. The program was not only developed to address skilled worker shortages, but also to provide a means for remote aboriginal communities located near mining projects to take advantage of job opportunities nearby. The program helped more than 1,000 First Nations people land jobs in B.C.’s mining sector. A 2013 review of the program found graduates had an average annual income of $53,000 after the program, which is nearly four times the average annual income of $13,754 before they entered the program.
Program executive director Laurie Sterritt tells us, “we feel the momentum and the acknowledgement by industry that our process works … we also hope that the value we bring to the industry extends to other industries.”
