7 Components
The AABO is the embodiment of the Ontario-based Aboriginal Apprenticeship Strategy as defined in the document “Supply Meeting Demand.” Its purpose is to ensure that the components of the strategy are well articulated through a plan of action, which will have measurable and positive results throughout the province.
The seven components of the Ontario-Based Aboriginal Apprenticeship Strategy are:
Outreach
To increase awareness and promotion of the trades as a positive career opportunity.
Marketing and Promotion
A sustained and financially supported effort to increase general public knowledge of available programs and services in the trades.
Development of targeted Aboriginal-specific trades promotional materials.
Education
Advocacy for new standards in Ontario curriculum to increase awareness and understanding of skilled labour requirements.
Recognition of the needs and reality of Aboriginal people as it relates to experience and formal education.
Partnership
Collaborative intervention of all major stakeholders of the strategy to develop an Ontario-based solution to increasing Aboriginal participation in apprenticeships and the skilled trades.
Research and Development
A program of ongoing research is required to ensure that Ontario Apprenticeship Initiatives are appropriate, inclusive and comprehensive.
An evaluation plan that will measure the effectiveness of the program in meeting its goals, measurements, and objectives.
Policy and Government
Apprenticeship as a provincial jurisdiction requires the full support of government of Ontario collaboration between the federal and the provincial governments (MTCU, HRSDC, INAC, Labour Departments, etc.) and ASETS’s to ensure an increased Aboriginal participation in apprenticeship and skilled trade occupations in Ontario.
Finance
Additional funding from both levels of government to ensure the successful implementation of the Ontario-based Aboriginal Apprenticeship Strategy.