Building Bridges: Opportunities and Challenges in Aboriginal Recruitment and Retention

摘要

Although supportive legislation has been enacted for over 30 years (Employment Equity Act, 1986, rev. 1995), deficits in employment participation, occupational and educational attainment, wages and opportunity remain for Aboriginal people (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) and other equity groups in Canada [1,2]. As Saha et al. [3] suggest, “legislation alone is insufficient—mindsets of the key HR/ business people often matter more”. In this context, this editorial reports on a qualitative study based on literature review and five key informant interviews with managers from the public, private, and co-operative, and labour sectors in Saskatchewan, Canada. Participants and organizations were purposefully recruited based on managerial responsibilities for diversity strategy and maturity of the program. The interviews focused not on evaluating the programs, policies, and organizations but on learning from each in developing recommendations for best practices for Aboriginal recruitment and retention. The study addresses these issues in a business environment facing labour shortages and population trends, including an aging workforce and growing Aboriginal population, all of which make Saskatchewan an important testing ground for strategies to support Aboriginal recruitment and retention [4].