Railway industry on track for jobs

The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and the Railway Association of Canada (RAC) have joined forces to promote a railway training and employment project.
The goal is to promote skills development and employment to Aboriginal Canadians for career opportunities in Canada’s rail industry.
“First Nations are the fastest growing segment of Canada’s population. We have over 400,000 young people under the age of 24,” said AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo.
“The AFN is pleased to be able to partner with a green and growing transportation industry. This project is one step towards employing perhaps thousands of our peoples in the dozens of east-west and north-south railroad companies that cross our traditional lands.”
The project was funded as part of the federal government’s two-year, $75 million Aboriginal Skills and Training Strategic Investment Fund under Canada’s Economic Action Plan.
The fund supports short-term, focused initiatives designed to help Aboriginal people get the specific skills they require to benefit from economic opportunities, including those generated by the federal stimulus package.
The project will provide 30 participants with tuition and living expenses to attend RAC railway conductor programs in Winnipeg, Thunder Bay and Vancouver.
Of these, seven project participants will be pre-screened by Aboriginal Human Resource Development Agreement holders and recruited as signals and communications maintainers.
“Aboriginal people are an important part of the Government of Canada’s strategy to create the best educated, the most skilled and the most flexible workforce in the world,” said Diane Finley, minister of human resources and skills development.
The project will be managed by the RAC’s workforce development director with support from the AFN.
It will run through March 31, 2011.