Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, this week, October 29th to November 4th, is Canada Career Week. The theme of Canada Career Week this year is: "Find the Work You Love...Build the Life You Want." The career each of us chooses determines how we spend much of our lives. That is one reason it is important to develop a career that is rewarding and fulfilling. A rewarding career takes careful planning. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment has a role to play in helping NWT residents to realize their career goals.
In the NWT, we celebrate Career Week with a series of events taking place in communities throughout the NWT that are designed to increase awareness about the range of programs available to support NWT residents in their efforts to find and keep work, to make career changes or to acquire additional skills.
This week is an opportunity to showcase the valuable work being done in our career centres across the Northwest Territories, which provide career planning programs and services. These centres have a wealth of information to help people plan and pursue a career. I encourage everyone to drop into their local career centre and check out Canada Career Week activities.
As we celebrate Canada Career Week, I would also like to draw attention to several new initiatives to promote and improve the career and skills development of our people.
As this House is aware, the NWT economy and other hot Western Canadian economies have resulted in significant skilled labour shortages.
As part of the response to this challenge, this government works with industry to assist in meaningful and relevant training. The Building Trades Helper Program has been designed to meet industry needs in one of the largest and busiest sectors of our economy, the construction industry. This program provides individuals with construction-specific knowledge and skills to become occupationally certified as a building trades helper.
Collaborative partnerships were integral to this initiative. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment worked with the NWT Construction Association and over 50 industry experts who volunteered their time and expertise in the development of standards that provided the foundation for the design of this program. I would like to take this opportunity to commend their efforts.
The standards, curriculum and resource materials have been designed and packaged so that the program can be delivered in a variety of venues and communities with ease. Mr. Speaker, over the next year, these resources are also being offered to schools throughout the NWT in support of trades awareness and career and technology studies programming. This program serves as an example of how we are preparing and developing our workforce.
Further, in order to serve northerners and our changing economy, the NWT Apprenticeship and Occupational Certification Program must provide a responsive system, supported by appropriate legislation, able to meet the needs of northerners and the demands of industry. To this end, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has commissioned a comprehensive review, that will include regional consultations, to examine the efficiency and effectiveness of NWT apprenticeship and occupational certification. The review will define the benchmarks that will allow for continuous program evaluation and delivery, ensuring our program meets both the needs of northerners and national standards.
One of the main challenges our government faces is to transform this tremendous economic boom we are experiencing into real sustainability. By using this unprecedented economic growth to invest in the career and skills development of our people, we are promoting self-reliance and securing long-term benefits for our people and communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause