I'm sorry, I have to interrupt you.
I've just been notified that we have a vote in 30 minutes, or less now. We're going to have to end the meeting at this point so that members can get back to the House.
Ms. McLeod.
Evidence of meeting #22 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was apprentices.
A recording is available from Parliament.
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Phil McColeman
I'm sorry, I have to interrupt you.
I've just been notified that we have a vote in 30 minutes, or less now. We're going to have to end the meeting at this point so that members can get back to the House.
Ms. McLeod.
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
With unanimous consent, do we have the opportunity to let our witness finish his brief?
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Phil McColeman
Do I see consent around the table for that? We have a bit of leeway here. Are we good with that?
10:05 a.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
10:05 a.m.
Chair, National Association of Career Colleges
I'm from Newfoundland, so I'll speak very quickly.
10:05 a.m.
Some hon. members
Oh, oh!
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Phil McColeman
If you could finish your comments, then, we'll stay in session until you're done.
10:05 a.m.
Chair, National Association of Career Colleges
Thank you for the opportunity.
The success rate, based on the new model that we have taken of doing community-based training, increased from less than 10% when a student would go off-community to study to more than a 70% completion in apprenticeship training programs.
That was very important, because in Labrador there are a number of major projects going on right now, and as part of the labour agreements they have, they are obligated to hire a number of aboriginal workers. Their problem was that there were none trained to do the work. You couldn't hire people who didn't have the skills.
They asked us to do the training for them on reserve, and we were very excited about that opportunity. We went in and said that we were going to approach this very differently from anything we had ever done in training before; we were going to ask the community what they needed. Rather than being rigid in things such as scheduling—“You're going to start on this date, and you're going to end nine months later”—we basically said. “You tell us what you need; if it's caribou season, we're going to break; we're going to give you the option of going to do your thing and come back when the time starts.”
Innu translators were made available. Also we made sure that the community was actively involved in the training.
I certainly could go on, but I won't delay your agenda, except to say that there is a model there to be followed, and I would encourage an open discussion at another time to talk about how it happened.
Thank you.
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Phil McColeman
We thank you for coming.
I apologize that we have this interruption, but it's our duty to go to the House of Commons now.
The meeting is adjourned.