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BEAHR Announces Development of Aboriginal EnviroCareers: A National Career Awareness Tool kit for Aboriginal Youth

Calgary, Alberta - January 7, 2003 - Building Environmental Aboriginal Human Resources (BEAHR) announces the development of a free of charge national career awareness tool kit for Aboriginal youth: Aboriginal EnviroCareers. Through funding from Human Resource Development Canada (HRDC), Aboriginal EnviroCareers will be released in Fall 2003, and will be distributed to high schools with Aboriginal students.

There is a clear need for Aboriginal EnviroCareers. In 1996, Aboriginal youth, under the age of 25, accounted for nearly half of the Aboriginal population. It is predicted that by 2016, 400,000 Aboriginal youth will be entering the labour market.

In the same census, 49% of all Aboriginal people over the age of 15 did not have a high school diploma, and only 24% had graduated from some level of post-secondary education. Furthermore, the unemployment rates for Aboriginal people are at least double the national average. Since education and employment are related, it can be reasoned that lower levels of education among Aboriginal people leads to greater employment barriers.

The environment sector is experiencing significant growth. At the same time, many environmental practitioners will be retiring. This will create a demand for environmental practitioners with post-secondary education. Furthermore, eighty percent of environmental employers stated that they would be likely, or very likely to employ Aboriginal graduates of environmental programs.

Environmental careers are a natural fit for many Aboriginal people. Traditionally, Aboriginal people are stewards of the land. Governments and industry both have responsibilities now to engage and consult with Aboriginal people on land and resource initiatives. Aboriginal communities are gaining control over their traditional territories as land claims are settled and treaties are signed. Also, many elders and individuals have considerable knowledge regarding local traditional land and resource use, which is being acknowledged as a benefit to western scientific knowledge. Clearly, employment in this sector is an opportunity for Aboriginal youth.

Consequently, BEAHR has initiated projects and activities towards the following goal and measure of success: "To increase Aboriginal employment in the environment sector by 6000 positions over the next 15 years."

Aboriginal EnviroCareers is, therefore, being developed to facilitate this BEAHR goal by guiding Canadian Aboriginal youth towards rewarding careers in the environment sector. This will be accomplished by assisting the career matching process, demonstrating which skills and knowledge are required to enter the environmental sector, providing resources to high school teachers and counselors, and profiling successful Aboriginal environmental practitioners.

The project will create an innovative, free of charge, career information package, in both official languages. The product will include the following resources:

* A career-matching tool;
* Profiles of Aboriginal environmental practitioners;
* Industry information such as salary ranges, educational
links, environmental business and employment trends; and
* Lesson plans for secondary school teachers or counselors.

The Aboriginal EnviroCareers will encompass an interactive, multimedia CD-ROM, website, video, a student career guide and facilitator's guide. Integral to the product will be the inclusion of Aboriginal culture and traditional knowledge.

Moving Forward, BEAHR plans to release Aboriginal EnviroCareers in the fall of 2003 for the new school year. To accomplish this goal a multi-media, e-learning contractor has been hired to complete the CD-ROM, website, video, and student and facilitator's guides: Technologies for Learning Group from Winnipeg, Manitoba.

One of the key first steps will be to identify 50-70 Aboriginal people who work in the environment industry to profile as role models.

To suggest an Aboriginal person who works or volunteers in the environment industry who would like to be profiled, or to request a free of charge Aboriginal EnviroCareers tool kit for your school or career office, please email aec@beahr.com or phone: 403- 233-0748. To find out more about BEAHR, please visit www.beahr.com. BEAHR is a joint initiative between the Canadian Council for Human Resources in the Environment Industry (CCHREI) and the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Council of Canada (AHRDCC) and is funded by HRDC.