Our Goal:
The goal of the Aboriginal Trades Project is to continue to increase the number of Aboriginal People who are trained and retained in the designated skilled trades and to also register rural, urban, off-reserve Aboriginal Peoples with the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency, ultimately moving them through the apprenticeship process.
How We Help:
The Aboriginal Trades Project’s main objective is the:
- Promotion of Trade related careers to Aboriginal Peoples in Nova Scotia;
- Promotion of the Apprenticeship system to the target group;
- Retention of Aboriginal Peoples in Trades related careers.
Activities of the Aboriginal Trades Project:
- Establish agreements with Employers within Mainland Nova Scotia to provide Aboriginal Apprentices with the required experience/hours;
- Register existing Aboriginal clients as Apprentices that are not registered working in the Industry under the Joint Registration Agreement;
- Attract new potential apprentices to the Designated Skilled Trades and the Apprenticeship system;
- Employer & Industry Engagement;
- Identify those clients that need apprenticeship placement and attach to employment and match Aboriginal apprentices to employers;
- Identify and relationship build with Aboriginal Mentors & Champions for Aboriginal youth to converse with during tours, conferences, etc;
- Aboriginal Youth engagement – engage and expose Aboriginal youth to the trades and educate them on the apprenticeship system;
- Trade Tours and Industry Exploratory – the arrangement of small trade tours to different employers, training centers and the construction trades hall to experience some of the 70 designated trades;
- Refer Aboriginal youth to participate in the annual Aboriginal Youth Skilled Trades Fair and to provide Aboriginal mentors for the youth for the conference;
Joint Registration Agreement:
The Native Council of Nova Scotia signed a Joint Registration Agreement (JRA) with the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency in May 2016. The Joint Registration Agreement will enable APTEC to register clients as apprentices with the apprenticeship agency and build a working relationship with employers in Nova Scotia. Further, this will give Aboriginal clients comfort in knowing that APTEC can continue to work with them through the process, so that they as apprentices are able to acquire and accumulate the needed hours to complete their levels of apprenticeship needed to move towards becoming certified journeypersons and red seals. APTEC, through the Aboriginal Trades Project would have the ability to attract, register, monitor and log apprenticeship hours within our data base system and in turn share that information with the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship agency. Under the Joint Registration Agreement, we will be able to provide regular reports with regards to the number of apprentices registered, trade registered to and the progress of their apprenticeship.
Contact Information:
Trades Coordinator
129 Truro Heights Road
P.O. Box 1320
Truro, NS B2N 5N2
Direct: 902-895-1523
Email: aptectrades@eastlink.ca
Website: www.ncns.ca
