Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning. I am speaking to you from Yellowknife, the traditional territory of Chief Drygeese and the ancestral land of the Yellowknives Dene. My name is François Afane, and I am the executive director of the Conseil de développement économique des Territoires du Nord‑Ouest, or CDETNO for short.
The CDETNO was created 21 years ago, in 2003, with a vision to become a leading authority in economic development in the Northwest Territories. Our mission is to promote, stimulate and support sustainable economic development across communities in the Northwest Territories. One of the things that makes the CDETNO unique is that, despite being a francophone organization, we use our expertise to the benefit of all communities, whether francophone or anglophone.
As a member of the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité du Canada, RDÉE Canada, the CDETNO works in partnership with provincial and territorial organizations. In that capacity, the CDETNO focuses its efforts on three strategic pillars: entrepreneurship, employability and community economic development. My team and I compiled some figures to illustrate the CDETNO's relevance and give you an overview of the CDETNO's work over the past nine years, from 2015 to 2023.
Between 2015 and 2023, the CDETNO recorded 40,250 visits to its employment centre, and held 318 meetings with entrepreneurs looking to grow their business or start a business. In addition, the CDETNO held 477 information sessions on investment opportunities in the Northwest Territories.
A total of 726 jobseekers took advantage of our program to help disadvantaged people, Dress to Impress, which provides them with vouchers to acquire equipment, gloves, protective footwear and other work gear. We posted 692 job opportunities on our online job board, supported 382 employers in their efforts to recruit mainly francophone workers, and participated in 74 job fairs, some of which we put on.
A total of 6,523 jobseekers interested in opportunities in the Northwest Territories were provided with information, and 1,357 people attended local job fairs that we organized. What's more, we helped 50 young dropouts re-enter the workforce through employment and training opportunities. We also participated in Destination Canada's international recruitment event 16 times.
That's an overview of the CDETNO's work. Of course, I provided that information to the clerk, and it will be shared with the committee members. I also provided a few videos we've made over the years as well as personal accounts illustrating some of our success stories.
In conclusion, the CDETNO is the Northwest Territories' definitive source for all things related to economic development and employability, in French as well as in English. We sit on all the committees. Nothing in the way of economic development in the Northwest Territories happens without the CDETNO's involvement or leadership. We serve all populations in the Northwest Territories, from indigenous peoples and francophones to anglophones and allophones. Anyone new to the territory looking for a job, wanting to start a business or trying to recruit workers turns to us.
I will leave it there. Thank you.