Strengthening Their Nations
Lax Kw’alaams & Metlakatla Training Initiative Chris Sankey is a Councillor for the Lax Kw’alaams Band (near Prince Rupert British Columbia) who chairs the Human Resource Committee and sits on the Education and Health Committees. Previously, Chris was the Manager of the Prince Rupert Aboriginal Skills Employment Partnership, which was a $4 million, ($2 million funds and $2 million In-Kind contribution) three year program developed to train Aboriginal clientele to meet the growing employment opportunities of Prince Rupert’s port-related businesses. Recently, Chris has been appointed to spearhead the Lax Kw’alaams capacity building initiative “Strengthening the Nation”, which works to ensure their people can successfully compete in the growing employment opportunities emerging throughout the Prince Rupert area. The eyes of the world are on the Prince Rupert Port, which is the traditional territory of the Coast Tsimshian. The Coast Tsimshian are in a unique situation, like many Aboriginal communities across Canada, as corporations are now
knocking at their door to do business. The Human Resources Committee was tasked with developing a strategy for Members to attain, retain, and continue to advance in employment. The goal of the HR Committee is to develop and implement a realistic and achievable plan to advance each Member from their current situation and move them forward to where they can be successful and offer the best of themselves on a consistent basis. For most people, this means employment; for others, it may mean engaging in community projects, and for some it may mean having a basic understanding of the need for a regular routine. The focus at the moment is ages 18 and up; this plan will combine efforts with the Education Committee on how to implement a framework into the Elementary and High Schools to help them understand the foundation the committee wants to instill. “My thoughts are, if we as a Nation were and are capable of learning how to hunt, fish, log, mend nets and fix marine engines by
Chris Sankey presenting at the recent Aboriginal Entrepreneurs Conference
way of observing, listening and practicing from our elders’ teachings, then we can implement the same philosophy from an exploratory and foundational level approach with the youth through academia and trades related programs”, explained Chris. “We are working in partnership with other organizations – such as Coast Opportunity Funds – to make sure we are aware of the best solutions out there when developing our plan. “We are working closely with key individual(s) to assist us with creating an avenue of resources, helping us pave the way for our members to advance themselves. This is not about hiring consultants to do all the work for us; this is about our members taking control over their future and desired goals,” added Chris. “The primary goal in the near-term is to develop a business plan for Human Resources to combine all of our assets on and off reserve that will detail what needs to be done (what institutions, programs, activities to develop), by when, by whom and the cost over time. “To do this, we need to engage with key leaders and managers in charge of education, training, social services, etc. AND consult with all Coast Tsimshian citizens. The long term goal is to create a work force that is competitive with the rest of Canada in return helping our country contribute to economic development both in North America and around the globe. “Access to technology is critical in the development of Aboriginal communities to create sustainability in the workforce and be competitive in the business world.” “We need to be more creative when it comes to employing our members. There is currently a major disconnect and lack of communication between contractors and corporations with employees regarding employability goals for both company and Aboriginal membership,” said Chris in closing. The team at Aboriginal Marketplace wish Chris and the Human Resource committee well on their journey to creating employment for their membership. Aboriginal Marketplace / November - December 2012 15