SIIT Sends Out Career Coaches

SIIT Sends Out Career Coaches

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 12:03

 

 

Two brightly-painted RVs will be travelling across the province, starting this August.

 

They belong to the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT), and are called “career coaches”.

 

Career counsellors will be in these coaches, working with communities to determine what industries are nearby that need employees, and tailor training towards those industries.

 

Chief Darcy Bear, of the Whitecap Dakota First Nation, sits on SIIT’s board.

 

He says this type of partnership can work, because he saw it work when the Dakota Dunes Casino was built on his reserve.

 

Through a partnership with the tribal council, SIIT, and the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority, “we ended up getting 45,000 First Nation man hours on the project, and we ended up completing the project not only ahead of schedule, but under budget as well,” Chief Bear says.

 

One of the coaches will be travelling to the northern part of the province, and the other to the south.

 

SIIT hopes to reach every community over the next couple of years, and plans to secure employment for a minimum of 800 First Nations residents.