During the week of July 16 – 20, a group of 20 youth, aged 13 to 17, from seven different Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) communities, participated in a first-of-its-kind, week-long boot camp for potential careers as first responders.
The boot camp was created as a partnership between the Saskatchewan Mining Association (SMA) and STC, with a grant under IMII’s Diversity & Inclusion Challenge program. It was one of five projects funded by IMII out of its first set of five diversity & inclusion challenges released in 2017.
The partners proposed the boot camp not only to stimulate interest among Indigenous youth in a variety of career opportunities as first responders – search & rescue, fire fighting, emergency response, paramedics and others, but also to provide youth with essential skills to take back to their communities. As part of the boot camp, participants obtained certification in First Aid Emergency CPR, Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System, and Young Worker Readiness. Such skills have value to and are recognized by the minerals industry.
The boot camp included participation from IMII member companies Nutrien, Cameco, The Mosaic Company and K+S Potash Canada, as well as the Whitecap Dakota First Nation, SSR Mining, Orano, the Saskatoon Fire Department, Warman Emergency Response Team, STARS, Artisan Safety Solutions, Medavie Health Services, Bridges Health and Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
With funding from IMII secured into 2019, the SMA plans to expand the camp to new locations in the province to spark interest in mining careers and foster the development of more Indigenous youth.
IMII released three new Diversity & Inclusion Challenges in July 2018.
