Partners in job training
Initiative aims to produce better employees

Sarah Holland
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 24/00) - Government at all levels is the largest employer in the North, providing jobs in every community.

When local governments are looking to hire new people, they must try to discover potential employees' skills, knowledge and attitude. On the other hand, employees sometimes feel their potential is not recognized.

A solution to this frustrating experience has been designed by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) in partnership with Aurora College, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE), other GNWT, aboriginal, federal and territorial organizations, as well as the private sector.

This solution is called the School of Community Government, which is a set of occupational standards that document the skills and knowledge needed by employees to fill specific occupations.

The goal of School of Community Government is to improve both the quantity and quality of community government training opportunities.

Basically, community governments and their staff will be able to not only train current employees, they can prepare residents to qualify for local positions. For positions that are already filled, the training helps employees improve their skills and advance their careers.

"People are trained both before they begin a job, and after they've been hired," said Dan Schofield, executive director of School of Community Government.

"Some people don't have all the necessary skills before they are hired, but the majority of the people we train already have the jobs and are furthering their skills."

Schofield says there are three main methods of delivering the training: Internet delivery, telephone correspondence and face-to-face delivery.

The occupational standards that dictate what training is to be done are designed by both employees and employers.

If there is a specific job that an employer wants designated, there are a number of steps to go through. It starts by making a formal request to the ECE minister.

The School of Community Government is divided into different program areas, including: aboriginal leadership and political development; planning and land administration; public safety; fire protection; volunteer development; community management and administration; works and works management.

For more information on School of Community Government, contact MACA or visit their Web site at www.sofcg.org.