The University of Alberta took a major step in promoting Aboriginal inclusion among students, staff and faculty according to the university’s website.
The university is the first post-secondary institution in Canada to join the Aboriginal Human Resource Council (AHRC) Leadership Circle, a non-profit organization aiming to promote the advancement of participation in society for Canadian Aboriginals, the website said.
With the use of educational programs and customized training, the AHRC will assist U of A in terms of human resources, working with Aboriginal-owned businesses, leadership and corporate/social responsibility and communications/marketing, according to the website.
U of A’s special advisor to the provost on Aboriginal initiatives, Tracy Bear, said the agreement between the university and the AHRC was inspired after seeing a need for it.
“Half of the Aboriginal population is currently under 24 years old,” Bear said.
“With such a large number of Aboriginals so young, it is important to have resources in place to support them. We have many other programs that aim to help Aboriginal students.”
Peggy Berndt, the national communications and marketing director at AHRC, said the Aboriginal population is growing six times faster than the rest of Canada. Given this, the university’s agreement with them has come at a significant time.
“More and more Aboriginals are deciding to go on to university,” Berndt said. In addition to the Aboriginal population benefitting, so is the rest of Canada. If Canada’s Aboriginals received the same level of education and employment as non-Aboriginal, our GDP can rise an estimated $401 billion by 2026.
