February 2016

ABORIGINAL MARKET
MONTHLY
Aboriginal Labour Market Newsletter

Canada Summer
Jobs Program
Expanding

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

recently announced that the
federal government will be
doubling the investment into
the Canada Summer Jobs
Program. The federal
government spent $106M on
the program last year, and will
be investing an additional
$133M over the next three
years.
This means more jobs will be
available for Canadians
between the ages of 15-30,
who were full-time students
during that past academic year
and intend to return to school
in the coming year.
Click here for more info: http://
bit.ly/1cmn8PO.
Aboriginal Market Monthly

Aboriginal Labour Market

Intelligence Report released
On February 10, 2016, the Joint Economic Development
Initiative (JEDI) held an event focusing on Shipbuilding
and Defense Industry Opportunities for Aboriginal
Businesses and Communities. At this event, JEDI released
its first biannual Aboriginal Labour Market Intelligence
Report, which contains an analysis of the results of the
Shipbuilding Aboriginal workforce survey.
The results showed that some respondents were able to
participate immediately in the workforce opportunities in
the defense sector; however skills development was needed
to empower the majority of respondents to access career
opportunities.
Click here for the full report: http://bit.ly/1QVfmgz.
1

February 2016

CURRENT EDUCATION LEVEL

7%

NBCC receives $2.5M

gift for bursaries
The New Brunswick Community
College (NBCC) will now be able
to offer a lot more bursaries to
students.
Funded by the Joyce Foundation,
a generous gift of $2.5M will
increase the amount of bursaries
available to NBCC students by
40%, and will provide 100
additional $1,000 bursaries each
year for students that
demonstrate a financial need for
assistance. You can read the full
news story on CBC News: http://
bit.ly/1QluQtx.

Current Employment
Opportunities in NB
Current job opportunities
available in the province.
2,779 Total job opportunities
available
2,542 Full time job
opportunities
1,630 Opportunities in the
urban centres (Moncton,
Fredericton, Saint John)
103 Openings in Sales &
Service positions
All data comes from NBJobs.ca, and
is accurate as of February 17, 2016.

Aboriginal Market Monthly

BACHELOR DEGREE
OR ABOVE

23%

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
VOCATIONAL SCHOOL

41%

HIGH SCHOOL OR
EQUIVALENT

31%

CAREER ASPIRATIONS

REQUIRING
35% CAREERS
UNIVERSITY

CAREERS

45% REQUIRING
COMMUNITY COLLEGE
CAREERS

17% REQUIRING
HIGH SCHOOL

29%

LESS THAN
HIGH SCHOOL

CAREERS

3% REQUIRING
NO TRAINING

(Source: NB Aboriginal Shipbuilding Workforce Survey)

New Brunswick and the rest of Canada

January 2016 saw the provincial unemployment rate increase
from 8.9% in December 2015, to 9.3%. This is lower than
January 2015s rate of 10.1%. The national unemployment
rate edged up to 7.2% as the labour force grew faster than
employment.

Filling holes in Canadas labour market

A recent article in the Globe and Mail identified gaps in the
Canadian labour market that have been exposed by the
latest economic downturn. Canadian Aboriginal peoples
have been identified as a huge pool of untapped labour to
help fill these gaps.
The article was based on a report from the C.D. Howe
Institute, which stated that Aboriginal peoples employment
outcomes are currently unacceptable, and that treaty rights
are a key factor in changing employment outcomes for
Aboriginal peoples in Canada.
Improved labour market information is key to changing the
employment outcomes, but federal and provincial
government leadership is lacking in this area. This is an
opportunity for Aboriginal communities to take the lead on
their own labour market outcomes. This eort is underway
at JEDI through the NB Aboriginal Skills Inventory, where
a provincial tool is being built to connect Aboriginal jobseekers with opportunities in the region.
Click here to read a full blog post about this issue: http://
bit.ly/1QP4sZD.
2