A representative workforce is one where Aboriginal workers are represented at all occupational levels (entry level, middle and senior management) in proportion to their numbers in the province's population. Although the primary goal of this strategy is to achieve a representative workforce, attaining that goal should not be considered a barrier to employment beyond proportional estimates. The achievement of a representative workforce requires changes in the workplace, improvements in the knowledge/skill attainment of potential Aboriginal workers, and a comprehensive and focused employment development strategy.

Building business partnerships, integrating Aboriginal people into the workforce, and creating an equal playing field are the keys to the Strategy. The Strategy focuses on working with employers to identify employment needs and remove existing barriers to Aboriginal employment in the workplace. The Strategy works from the assumption that all employment and economic opportunities should be available and realistically accessible to Aboriginal people, and Aboriginal people should have decision-making control over which opportunities they wish to pursue.

A primary component of the Representative Workforce Strategy has been to develop partnerships between employers (both public and private) and the Government of Saskatchewan, through First Nations and Métis Relations. Partnerships are based on common objectives and principles:

• Employment Development
• Economic Development
• Cultural Development
   

The principles are

• Cooperation
• Fairness
• Consistency
• Mutual Respect
• Open Communication
   

The objectives and principles of every partnership are the same; however, the process of each partnership is unique. The following is an example of an implementation sequence:

1. Conduct research to gauge the potential of the Aboriginal workforce and its training needs and identify employment sectors that offer a broad range of occupations and opportunities.
2. Contact employers and establish partnership agreements, and institute a stakeholder committee of the partners, unions, training institutions, and the Aboriginal community to oversee the implementation of the agreement.
3. Develop a plan to address barriers to Aboriginal employment. The plan may include policy review, misconception training, and a recruitment and retention plan that includes Aboriginal people.
4. Identify all employment and economic opportunities in the workplace. This includes a list of all employment positions and the skills and education requirements needed. Economic opportunities can be communicated as a list of all the goods and services purchased by the employer in order to do business. These lists may be thought of as audits or generic menus of opportunity.
5. Implement mechanisms for the provision of support services, the development of support networks and job orientation for Aboriginal employees.
6. Employ a strategy to work with unions to review possible enhancements for including Aboriginal people in the workplace.
7. Implement an active co-monitoring and co-evaluation process. This will allow the employer and other partners to review partnership deliverables, any lost opportunities, and to take remedial action where necessary. 
     

The primary roles of the partnership participants are:
 

Employer:

• Identify employment and economic opportunities in a generic way.
• Establish linkages with Aboriginal communities.
• Address workplace barriers with misconception training and acceptable dispute resolution processes.
• Hire qualified Aboriginal people.
   

Aboriginal Community:

• Ensure education is a priority.
• Ensure education meets employer's educational requirments.
• Focus training efforts where opportunities exist.
• Pursue new training opportunities.
• Compete for jobs and business contracts on an equal footing.
   

Government:

• Facilitate the partnerships.
• Ensure programs are contemporary to promote maximum advantage for Aboriginal people.
• Communicate opportunities to the Aboriginal community.
• Support the promotion of public policy that prepares for the changing demographics in Saskatchewan.
   

Unions:

• Identify and remove irritants within collective agreements.
• Enhance collective agreements with language that includes Aboriginal people.
• Encourage engagement between organized labour and the Aboriginal community to build an agenda that can be promoted by both stakeholders.

For more information, please contact:

Aboriginal Employment Development Program
7th Floor, 1855 Victoria Avenue
Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 3T2
Tel: (306) 787-6250
Fax: (306) 798-0004
E-mail: aedp@fnmr.gov.sk.ca