An evaluation by a third party consulting firm warned that a federal government employment program is holding Aboriginal youth back from getting jobs.

Goss Gilroy Inc., a consulting firm hired by the department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, “raised concerns” that the department couldn’t assess whether its On-Reserve Income Assistance Program was actually working, according to a March 2015 technical report released under the Access to Information Act.

LINKING PROGRAMS WITH OPPORTUNITIES

The Income Assistance Program was designed to “help youth achieve self-sufficiency and independence” in order to end the “work-welfare cycle.”

Aboriginals face well-documented obstacles when it comes to securing long-term, sustainable employment.

According to the 2011 National Household survey, unemployment rates for Aboriginals were double those of non-Aboriginals.

Encouragingly, a 2012 report by Aboriginal Affairs predicted that the forecasted increase in jobs could present an “opportunity for First Nations youth to be working.”

However, the consulting firm warned that this would only be possible if the employment program was sufficient enough to leave them “able and ready” to enter the job market.

IN THE DARK

In order for Aboriginal Affairs to understand whether the On-reserve Income Assistance Program was actually capable of doing this, the report said the department needed to collect “valid and reliable” information on the program’s progress from the participating reserves, shown below.

Source: Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada – Income Assistance Program FAQs

The department requires bands and tribal councils to submit updates every three months through its reporting system.

But the consulting firm found that the information coming in did not clarify that the program was actually able to get First Nations youth the “skills and training” they needed in order to secure long-term jobs.

“ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL” NOT GOOD ENOUGH

Dalhousie University’s Kathleen Kevany, an expert on community development, admits that it’s “tricky” to have standards of measurement “if you’re trying from a government perspective to compare communities.”

“It’s hard to do that because you don’t have the same reports from every place.”

But Curtis Reilly, the employment councillor for PEI’s Lennox Island First Nations, wondered, “how do you put every community and every situation in a box and make it work for everybody?”

Reilly says that the program will need to figure out how to meet the unique needs of every community if it’s going to work .

ALTERNATIVE MEASURES OF SUCCESS

For his reserve, Reilly says he demonstrates success “not so much” through reports – but in the pictures he uploads on the Island’s Employment Services Facebook Group.

 

“A lot of people may see [our achievements] as small successes,” he said, “but a lot of the time they’re big successes.”

From his close vantage point over the years, Reilly has seen “first-hand” what works and what doesn’t – and it’s starting to pay off.

“Nothing is perfect by any means,” he said, recalling the “ups and downs” along the way. “But [by starting small], I think we’re really starting to see that success story now.”