Building Their Own Futures

On National Indigenous Peoples Day, June 21, 2023, we are celebrating by sharing inspiring stories about Indigenous job seekers who connected with WorkBC to find their own path to employment.

With collaborative support from their communities and WorkBC, funded through the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Development Agreement (LMDA), these people chose interesting careers and leveraged the wide range of supports available to get the training and experience they needed to succeed.

Indigenous people can also access Indigenous Skills and Employment Training services which are located throughout the province.

Darryl from Squirrel Cove is pursuing a career operating heavy equipment

Darryl lives in the community of Squirrel Cove on Cortes Island and is a member of the Klahoose First Nation. He enjoys learning and gaining new job skills and was keen to get the credentials he needed to get sustainable employment.

Darryl was intrigued when he heard about a training project, taking place in Powell River, teaching people how to use heavy equipment. For some time, he had been interested in operating equipment as a career path, so went to WorkBC Centre to learn more.

At WorkBC Centre Campbell River, Darryl applied for the Heavy Equipment Operator training program in Powell River. Once he was accepted into the program, he needed some extra support to travel from his home community to the training location.

WorkBC Centre Campbell River worked closely with the Klahoose Band, collaborating to provide accommodation and commuting costs, so Darryl could take the training. While in training, he learned about job search tools and the labour market research.

Darryl has just now completed his training as a certified Heavy Equipment Operator, has updated his resume and gained several job leads. He’s now working on the final step – connecting with employers to secure  employment using his newly acquired skills.

Samantha from Fernie wanted to be an Early Childhood Educator

Samantha lives in Fernie and is a member of the Qalipu First Nation. Becoming an Early Childhood Educator was always her plan, but life got in the way of her gaining formal training.

She liked working with kids and excelled at providing childcare. She had work experience but needed credentials to be able to work in a formal childcare environment. She went to WorkBC Centre Fernie to find out if they had training options to help her reach her employment goal and was pleased to learn that they did.

With WorkBC funding support, Samantha began her training as an Early Childhood Educator. An Aboriginal Client Case Manager from the Ktunaxa Nation Council and WorkBC combined efforts to support Samantha. The Aboriginal Client Case Manager is also an Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) service provider. This relationship ensured Samantha was connected to any additional and supplemental resources the ISET was able to provide. This combined effort provided Samantha with daycare for her own children, as well as other costs during her training, so she could focus on her studies.

Samantha was offered a job while she was still in training. Once she did finish, she quickly started her job fulltime as an Early Childhood Educator at the Fernie Child Care Society.

Rhonda from Fort Nelson wanted to run her own catering business

Rhonda lives in the community of Fort Nelson First Nation. She wanted to work in her community but could not find full-time work, so she started looking into starting her own business.

Rhonda knew she needed a business plan proposal to submit to the community Chief and Council, so she went to WorkBC Centre Fort-Nelson for help. She enrolled in the WorkBC Self-Employment program to learn about how to run a business.

She learned about business planning, market research, sales and marketing, business operations, and financial management. This support allowed her to take her small business idea and develop it into a solid business plan for the Chief and Council – creating her own employment opportunity to benefit her community.

Rhonda successfully completed the program and launched her business. She continued to learn from coaches and mentors while she built up her business, Taste of Home Catering.