Training and Employing Indigenous Workers: A Conceptual Scheme and a Proposal

In this report Dev-Cor Technical Services presents a plan for employing indigenous people under the auspices of the Alberta Oil Sands Environmental Research Program (AOSERP). The introductory section of the report details the assignment as given by AOSERP and briefly describes the Program and its study area in northeastern Alberta. The second section forms the body of the report, providing a general conceptual model of employment and the occupational structure, a proposal for the training of indigenous people which would facilitate their employment, and a research procedure for evaluating the efficacy of the training-employment proposal. The third and final section touches on related points, such as the availability of training institutions and funding. The final recommendation is that AOSERP contract an outside agency to carry out the recruitment, training, and research procedures outlined in the report and that it utilize this process to meet its commitment to hire local people. It is also an excellent opportunity to research the use of training and employment as an intervention procedure for maximizing the benefits and minimizing the adverse effects of rapid resource development for an indigenous population.