GN releases Inuit Employment Plans to 2023
News Release
GN releases Inuit Employment Plans to 2023
Iqaluit, Nunavut (March 3, 2020) – The Government of Nunavut (GN) today released the government-wide Master Inuit Employment Plan and detailed Inuit Employment Plans (IEPs) for all GN departments, Nunavut Arctic College, Nunavut Housing Corporation, and Qulliq Energy Corporation. All plans are in place until 2023.
“These IEPs will help the GN meet our obligations under Article 23 of the Nunavut Agreement and facilitate the creation of a skilled, truly representative public service workforce, in a welcoming and respectful workplace,” said Minister of Human Resources Lorne Kusugak.
The territorial public service more than doubled in size over the past 20 years. The number of Inuit employed in the public service has also more than doubled during this period of growth from 918 in March 2000 to 1843 in December 2019.
IEPs were developed using data from the Nunavut Inuit Labour Force Analysis and an analysis of the GN’s workforce. IEPs outline opportunities and challenges in Inuit employment and include goals and action plans to 2023. Training, education and career development initiatives to help Inuit employees and casual workers develop their skills and follow a desired career path in the public service are also included.
The GN has maintained multi-year, government-wide IEPs since Nunavut was created in 1999. These detailed, multi-year IEPs build on that work, to create more comprehensive, specific plans. Annual goals and priorities for action continue to be included in the annual IEPs in the GN’s business plans. This is the first time departments and territorial corporations have also prepared multi-year IEPs.
IEPs are available online at http://bit.ly/IEPs-ENG. Departmental IEPs are also available on GN department’s web pages and on territorial corporation’s websites.
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Media Contacts:
Master Inuit Employment Plan
Janis Qaunirq
Communications Specialist
867-975-6239
@email
GN Departments’ and Territorial Corporations’ Inuit Employment Plans
Communications contact lists for Departments and Corporations: http://bit.ly/GNComms-ENG
Backgrounder
Inuit Employment Plans to 2023
The GN drafted a new multi-year Master Inuit Employment Plan in 2017-2018 after new federal funding for Inuit employment initiatives became available until 2023. These IEPs were updated and finalized in 2019.
Status of Inuit Employment in the GN
Public Service Employees Need Knowledge and Skills
GN job descriptions and advertisements are reviewed to ensure that education, experience and other qualifications are not inflated to become a barrier to Inuit applicants.
Almost half of GN positions involving university-level education are in regulated professions, including teachers, nurses, lawyers and accountants. Each of the regulated professions requires a degree in a specific field of study. Graduates must be licensed by an external authority to work in the profession.
Inuit representation is well above the GN average of 50 per cent in positions involving college or trades training, high school completion, or no formal education. Since 2013, Inuit representation has been less than 33 per cent in positions involving education at the university level.
Nunavut’s Labour Market Creates Challenges in Inuit Employment
Nunavut’s labour market does not yet support a fully representative public service in all occupational groups and at all levels. The Government of Canada’s 2018 Nunavut Inuit Labour Force Analysis shows the supply of qualified, available and interested Inuit does not yet match the need of government and other employers in the territory:
- Nunavut has a young and rapidly growing population.
- Inuit participation in Nunavut’s labour market remains relatively low.
- There is a limited supply of educated Inuit to meet government needs.
- Nunavummiut have increasing choice in employers and types of employment.
The IEPs create new opportunities in Inuit Employment
Through their IEPs, departments, territorial corporations and agencies are implementing actions in six areas of focus: