| Industry, Aboriginal, educational and government partners have collaborated to form a minerals and mining specific Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership (ASEP). The BC Aboriginal Mine Training Association (BC AMTA) will run a three-year program that will provide skills training in the northwest and central interior regions of British Columbia for 148 Aboriginal participants. ASEP is a labour market program that provides Aboriginal people with the skills development and work experience they need to participate in large-scale industrial sectors including forestry, mining, oil and gas, construction and hydro electric development. The BC AMTA consists of sixteen partners, six of which have made employment commitments. The partnership shares the cost of implementing the proposal with significant investment funding from the private sector/major employers, AME BC, MABC and the Aboriginal groups involved. Human Resources and Skills Development Canada provides federal funding to the partnerships. Partnerships are based on training-to-employment plans that cover a broad range of basic skills, literacy, academic upgrading, job-specific training and apprenticeships, retention counselling and other support while on the job. |