Canadian businesses face current and future challenges finding enough qualified workers to meet their needs. The Aboriginal population of Canada—including Métis, Inuit, and First Nation—as an underutilized source of labour, can help businesses fill skills and labour gaps.

Understanding the Value, Challenges, and Opportunities of Engaging Métis, Inuit, and First Nations workers analyses the challenges and opportunities employers encounter when engaging Aboriginal workers in Canada. An online survey and interviews with Canadian businesses industry associations, and Aboriginal employment organizations examined their engagement and experiences with Aboriginal workers. The report acts as a starting point for creating a greater understanding of how to overcome the labour market integration challenges facing Aboriginal workers in Canada. In addition, it provides recommendations on the steps that employers, Aboriginal organizations, and policy-makers can take to help improve the labour market participation of Aboriginal workers.

Executive Summary

Chapter 1—The Role of Aboriginal Workers in the Canadian Economy

• Métis, Inuit, and First Nations Workers: Integral to Canada’s Ongoing Competitiveness and Performance
• Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: An Underutilized Labour Force
• Key Factors Affecting Aboriginal Peoples’ Labour Market Participation
• Implications for Employment of Aboriginal Workers in Canada
• Methodology

Chapter 2—Business Engagement of Aboriginal Workers

• Human Resources Strategies and Challenges of Canadian Businesses
• Engaging Aboriginal Groups and Workers
• Awareness of Programs to Assist With Employment and Training of Aboriginal Workers
• Conclusion

Chapter 3—Attracting and Hiring Aboriginal Workers

• Background—Aboriginal Employment
• Challenges of Attracting and Hiring Aboriginal Workers
• Conclusion

Chapter 4—Work Performance and Retention of Aboriginal Workers

• Challenges With the Work Performance and Retention of Aboriginal Workers
• Conclusion

Chapter 5—Strategies for the Successful Engagement of Aboriginal Workers

• Tools and Strategies to Recruit Aboriginal Workers
• Programs, Tools, and Strategies to Motivate and Retain Aboriginal Workers
• Positive Impacts of Employing Aboriginal Workers
• Conclusion

Chapter 6—Conclusions and Lessons Learned

• Strategies to Improve Recruitment, Hiring, Work Performance, and Retention of Aboriginal Workers
• Conclusion

Appendix A—Bibliography