A new report by the Ottawa-based Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF) has revealed that Indigenous youth across the country face several obstacles, including fears of racism and sexism in the workplace, when trying to transition into apprenticeship programs in the various construction trades.
Interviews with Indigenous youth, educators, and representatives of industry associations, training organizations and unions revealed that financial difficulties, lack of personal supports and limited connections with employers are also barriers that prevent Aboriginals from succeeding in the skilled trades.
“This report is important because careers in the skilled trades provide great opportunities to youth to work in well-paid and exciting careers and in order to drive economic growth and to support equality and diversity in our skilled trades workforce we should be thinking about ways we can engage Indigenous youth,” explains Emily Arrowsmith, a researcher at the CAF and author of the 28-page report.
The report, officially called Promoting Careers in the Skilled Trades to Indigenous Youth in Canada, was funded by Indigenous Services Canada and provides insight into the barriers Indigenous youth experience when trying to pursue hands-on learning at high school or when transitioning to an apprenticeship.
The CAF received information from First Nations, Metis and Inuit organizations. Participants were from urban, rural and northern regions. Some were living in Indigenous communities and others were elsewhere.
There must be respect for the culture and the unique knowledge and cultural traditions Indigenous peoples bring,
— Promoting Careers in the Skilled Trades
to Indigenous Youth in Canada report
Among other things, the report found that the engagement process with Indigenous youth needs to start early, learning needs to be made relevant to them, there is a lack of awareness about opportunities in the trades, and good work habits such as arriving on time need to be communicated to them.
Other barriers included lack of access to public transportation which makes it difficult for Indigenous youth to get to jobsites, and few journeypersons living in Indigenous communities who can train and mentor them.
The report recommends providing supports at every step of the process, including access to social workers, elders and graduation and job coaches who can provide mentorship, job coaching and one-on-one support. While it notes that Indigenous organizations, schools and industry groups are working to remove barriers, a main challenge is connecting Indigenous youth to employers who are hiring apprentices.
“Partnerships among employers, educational institutions and Indigenous organizations are key to engaging Indigenous students in learning about apprenticeship and careers in the skilled trades,” says Arrowsmith.
Disturbingly, the report found that many Indigenous high school students feared they’d experience racism and sexism at workplaces. The Circle of Indigenous Youth Advisors, a group that is organized and overseen by the Niagara Peninsula Aboriginal Management Board, stated that some employers and teachers do not support the integration of cultural components into the workplace or learning environment.
The advisors told researchers that it can be intimidating to learn about another culture, but it is important to have cultural humility.
“There must be respect for the culture and the unique knowledge and cultural traditions Indigenous peoples bring to a work or school environment,” the report states. “Employers need to show how they are changing their workplace culture to nurture and support youth who are learning new skills. The Circle of Indigenous Youth Advisors believe part of the problem is that policies and approaches at educational institutions and workplaces may not recognize or may be at odds with Indigenous culture and values.”
According to the report, Indigenous youth may perceive that institutions and workplaces are not willing to adapt, making it difficult for them to feel like they fit in.
“If administrators and employers truly want to welcome Indigenous peoples, they need to change the way they do things at a fundamental level, from learning assessments to their policy implementation,” the report states. “There should be consequences when bullying and harassment occurs.”
Arrowsmith says she personally talked to Indigenous high school students and found their fears about racism and sexism to be justified.
She notes that a national apprenticeship survey done by Statistics Canada shows that female and Indigenous apprentices experience discrimination on worksites and that women are more likely than their male counterparts to report problems with sexual harassment and discrimination by co-workers to employers.
The report also revealed several other problems, finding that Indigenous individuals who’d been apprentices for a long time encountered problems with transportation, co-workers and insufficient income more often than non-Indigenous respondents.
The report concludes that accurate information about courses required to qualify for entry into an apprenticeship should be communicated to young people, parents and First Nation partners, and employers and Indigenous tradespeople should be brought into the classroom to act as role models and mentors.
Learning needs to be relevant to the students, according to the report, and when educators are teaching a physics or math lesson in the North, for example, students will be more engaged if tracking, hunting and setting up traps for muskrats and beaver are used to illustrate theoretical concepts.
Arrowsmith believes that educators and employers must work in partnership with Indigenous organizations to provide Aboriginal youth with opportunities to learn about and work in the skilled trades.
“Holistic supports need to be provided throughout the entire journey from awareness to finding an employer sponsor to skills development to writing the certification exam,” she says.
“The best practices from across the country discussed in the report indicate that the barriers can be addressed if educators, employers and Indigenous organizations work in partnership to create learning, training and employment opportunities for Indigenous youth.”
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