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Thebestlong-terminvestmentwecanmakeisreallyencouragingNorthernerstocompletehighschoolconsiderpostsec-ondaryjustlookatthoseopportunities.SheilaBassi-KellettDeputyMinisterofHumanResources14TuesdayMarch182014ByMEAGANWOHLBERGWithalackofskilledlocallabourandthechallengeofcompetingwithsouthernju-risdictionstollsimilarjobstheterritorialgovernmenthasnoeasytaskaheadofitselfinllingitscurrentvacancieswhileitstrugglestobothndjobsforNorthernersanddrawin2000newresidentsoverthenextveyears.ThedepartmentofHumanResourcesalreadytaskedwithhelpingdepartmentsacrosstheboardtostaffap-proximately571hard-to-llpositionsthroughouttheter-ritorynowhastheaddedre-sponsibilityofaidingintherecruitmentofhundredsofnewcomerstotheNWT.Itsataskthatsbothaso-lutionandachallengeandonethathastobebalancedwiththegovernmentscon-currentprioritytoprovideemploymentopportunitiestoitsownresidentssaysdeputyministerSheilaBassi-Kellett.ItsabalancingactitsnotaneitherorsituationshetoldTheJournal.Thereisnotaone-size-ts-allapproachtorecruit-mentbecauseclearlyweretryingtoreconcileareallystronginterestinmakingsurethereareopportunitiesforNorthernersalongwiththenewgrowthstrategyshesaid.Tomethesearenotnec-essarilycompetingagainsteachother.Theyreconcur-rentprioritiesbecausewevegottodoboth.Theresneveratimewhenwecouldsaywerenewevegotthela-bourforceherewewontevenbotherwithpeopleap-plyingfromoutside.LocalrecruitmentWhileneweffortsarebeingtakentopitchtheGNWTasanattractiveNWTjobmarketfeelsgrowingpainsinsideandoutNewrecruitmentstrategytargetslocalswhilelookingtogrowpopulationIndustryJobsemployertotherestofCan-adawithanewcareersweb-siteandstopsatjobfairsBassi-Kellettsaysjustasmuchisgoingonwithintheterritorytomatchupresi-dentswithavailablejobsintheireducationalrangeandprovideon-the-jobtrainingtoboostpeopleintoperma-nentplacement.Rightnowabout75percentofGNWTjobsrequiresomeformofpostsecondaryeducationfromacollegedi-plomatoagraduatedegree.Oftheotherquarterabout23percentrequireaGrade12educationwhilethere-mainderexpectpeopletodemonstratebasicliteracy.Around55percentofposi-tionspresentlybeingactivelystaffedareinYellowknifeandtherestarescatteredacrosstheother32communities.Lastfallaregionalrecruit-mentstrategywaslaunchedtomatchupjobseekerswithavailablepositionsintheirowncommunitiesbymeet-ingpeopleattheirlevelandpromisingadditionalprofes-sionaldevelopmentalongtheway.Ifthereisajobopeningavacantjobthatwehaveinthecommunitywheretyp-icallytheknowledgeskillsandabilitiesyouneedtodothejobishighschoolthenwewanttomatchitwithsomeonewhosinthecom-munityBassi-Kellettsaid.Afteroneyearoftrain-ingonthejobthosepeoplearegenerallymadeperma-nenthires.Itworksoutreallywellbecauseitsincreasingem-ploymentopportunitiesitssupportingsomeonetobesuccessfulandthenitssomeonewhoslivinginthecommunitysohousingisntanissuebecausethatsan-otherdilemmaforus.BesidestheneweffortsatregionalrecruitmentshesaidNorthernerscontinuetoben-etfromafrmativeactionhiringpoliciesintheNWT.Themostrecentreportonemployeedistributionfrom2012shows32percentofGNWTpositionsarelledbyPriority1Aboriginalindigenoushires13percentareindigenousnon-Aborigi-nalPriority2hiresandtheremaining55percentarestaffedbythosewhodontidentifyorarentpriority.AttractingstudentsandgraduatesAspartofitsgrowthstrat-egyHumanResourcesisfo-cusinginonthepostsecond-arystudents-Northernorotherwise-thatarecurrentlyjoiningthejobmarketsouthof60insteadofreturningorventuringNorth.Weknowwehavealotofstudentsgoingoutforpost-secondaryeducationsowhatdowedotoattractthembackandmakethepublicservicesomethingthatlooksmoreglamorousWendweat-tractsomeofourownbackforsummeremploymentorinternshipsbutitseemsliketheresahigherturnoverrateinouryoungerstaffBassi-Kellettsaid.Thedepartmentishopingthatitsinternshipprogramsimprovedlastweekthroughextensionstotheinternshipperiodsalongwithco-oppartnershipswithuniversi-tieswillbethehooksneededtosnaggraduatesbeforetheygetcaughtinthesouthwardbraindrain.Thatsameansofat-tractingstudentstocomeandhaveagrandadventurecomeNorthanddosomecoolstuffandhopefullylurethosestudentsbackoncetheyvegraduatedbecausetheyvecomeherehavetheexpe-riencehaveaworkhistoryhereBassi-Kellettsaid.TrainingremainstoughchallengeSolutionstoaddresslim-itedhousingandcostsoflivingareunderwayintheNWTwhichcouldseemoreoutsideemployeesmaketheirwayNorthbutBassi-Kellettsaidthelong-termsolutionforllinglabourneedsistobuildastrongerlocalworkforce.Thebestlong-termin-vestmentwecanmakeisre-allyencouragingNorthern-erstocompletehighschoolconsiderpostsecondaryjustlookatthoseopportunitiesshesaid.ThatswhyHRhaspart-neredwithEducationtomoveintomiddleschoolsandhighschoolsinordertopromotetheopportunitiesavailabletostudentsintheGNWTfromwildlifebiologiststosocialworkers.Thatsnotashort-termthing.Tobebluntourre-gionalrecruitmentstrategyissupposedtobeashort-termbutthelongertermisalsocontinuingNorthernerstoreallygeteducationandgoodskillsandhaveyourpickofthecoolopportuni-tiesthatarehere.PhotoGNWTdepartmentofHumanResources57155754520001150NumberofvacantpositionsactivelybeingstaffedwithinGNWTPercentageofGNWTjobvacancieslocatedinYellowknifePercentageofGNWTjobsrequiringpostsecondaryeducationPercentageofGNWTjobscurrentlylledbyNorthernerspriorityhiresNumberofresidentsGNWTwantsaddedtopopulationwithinveyearsNumberoftotalvacantpositionssomeofwhicharentbeingactivelystaffedHumanResourcesstaffadvertisejobswiththeGNWTatthe2013WinterludefairinOttawa.