Question Period Note: Indigenous Labour Market Programs

How the Government of Canada is supporting better employment outcomes for Indigenous people

The Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) Program is an investment of $2 billion over five years, and $408.2 million per year ongoing. This funding will assist clients with gaining greater skills and finding jobs that will support their long-term career success.

The ISET Program strives to reduce the skills gap by 50% and the employment gap by 25% between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations over 10 years.

In the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, an additional $144.2 million for ISET was announced for one year (2021-2022). This funding is providing increased supports in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Skills and Partnership Fund (SPF) is a project-based program, funded at $50 million per year ongoing. It supports partnerships between Indigenous organizations and employers to provide training linked to economic opportunities.

In February 2022, the Government launched an open call for proposals for the SPF, seeking projects that focus on the Green Economy, Information and Communications Technology, Infrastructure, the Blue Economy, and the Indigenous Public Service.

32 projects were recommended, in the amount of $250 million in funding over 5 years. The majority of the projects are underway.

Budget 2018 announced the creation of the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) Program as a successor program to the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ASETS). Launched in 2019, the ISET Program supports Indigenous people in improving their skills and meeting their long-term career goals. This represents an investment of $2 billion over five years, and $408.2 million per year ongoing, including incremental investments of $447 million over five years, and $99.4 million per year ongoing. The Program funds a network of over 115 Indigenous service delivery organizations with over 650 points of service to provide Indigenous people with training and supports to improve their skills and secure employment. The goal of the ISET Program is to reduce the skills and employment gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, by 50% and 25% respectively, over a 10-year period (2019-2029).

The ISET Program provides distinctions-based support for First Nations, Métis and Inuit, as well as urban and non-affiliated Indigenous People. To that end, the new program provides:

$1.1 billion over five years, and $235.7 million per year ongoing, for a First Nations stream.

$325 million over five years, and $67 million per year ongoing, for a Métis Nation stream.

$161.2 million over five years, and $32.6 million per year ongoing, for an Inuit stream.

$213.4 million over five years, and $45.2 million per year ongoing, for an urban/non-affiliated stream.

An additional $144.2 million was announced for one year (2021-2022) in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement for the ISET network to:

Increase support to Indigenous youth, persons with disabilities, clients living out of territory/in urban areas;

Enhance capacity of service delivery organizations; and

Expand Indigenous Labour Market Information Survey and Skills Inventory Pilot.

From April 2019 to March 2023, over 168,000 clients have been served by ISET organizations. Of these clients, more than 66,400 have found employment and over 20,900 have returned to school.

The Skills and Partnership Fund (SPF) is a project-based program that funds partnerships between Indigenous organizations and industry employers to provide skills training for Indigenous people linked to economic opportunities at the local, regional and national level. By increasing access to training that is demand-driven, SPF plays a key role in directly linking Indigenous people to specific jobs and improving their employment outcomes. SPF has the flexibility to adjust to government priorities and address emerging economic opportunities.

SPF was launched in 2010 with an investment of $210 million over five years to support skills development and training-to-employment for jobs identified by partner employers. SPF was renewed in April 2015 and has a budget of $50 million per year, ongoing.

Since 2010, there have been four SPF Call for Proposals (the last one took place in 2016) resulting in 130 projects in key sectors such as shipbuilding, health care, construction, energy, mining, and tourism. To date, SPF has served over 46,900 Indigenous clients with over 19,300 employed and over 2,900 returning to school.

In February 2022, ESDC launched an open Call for Proposals (CFP) for the SPF. This CFP followed national engagement undertaken with nearly 200 organizations between January and July 2021 to inform the future of the program.

The priority of the CFP was to identify projects that will equip Indigenous people with the skills needed for jobs within specific and emerging sectors or industries, and that are responsive to local and regional priorities. More specifically, this CFP targeted five priority sectors:

Green Economy – Industries that support the more efficient use and alternative sources of energy and resources; 

Information and Communications Technology - Industries that support and contribute to the manufacturing of goods and/or the delivery of services related to broadband, connectivity, computers, software and other communications technology; 

Infrastructure - Industries that support the construction, function, and maintenance of physical infrastructure advancing Canada’s goals. They may also support the development of a community;  

Blue Economy - Industries that support long-term growth in ocean-based sectors such as ocean-based energy, marine infrastructure, aquaculture, commercial fisheries, coastal and marine tourism, and ocean technology; and 

Indigenous Public Sector - Indigenous Governments and public-services owned and operated by Indigenous governments such as law enforcement, emergency services, infrastructure, land administration, public transit, public education, childcare and health care.

ESDC received 178 funding proposals for this CFP, with 119 of these applications being deemed eligible. Upon further assessment, 32 projects were recommended, in the amount of $250 million in funding over 5 years.

Organizations can begin their projects when negotiations are complete and agreements have been signed. Most projects are now underway.

None