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Getting the best training boost for city bucks

Human resources report advocates spending money earmarked for policy review on training instead

DENISE RIDEOUT

The City of Iqaluit’s human resources department issued a report to council this week outlining the work it has done to increase the number of Inuit working at the municipality and train others to take on more responsibility.

Human resources is trying to ease councillors’ minds after asking last month to use $50,000 set aside for an Inuit employment policy to train Inuit staff.

Some councillors took issue with the decision because they had voted in June to put the $50,000 toward a review of the 1998 policy.

The policy, which recommends the municipality develop training programs for Inuit interested in climbing the corporate ladder, has never been implemented, several city councillors complained.

But last month, a human resources officer told council the money should be used to pay for a lands officer trainee, to have employees job shadow in other city departments and pay for Inuit staff to take middle-management courses.

The human resources department says the money would be better spent on training, not to pay consultants to make more recommendations for more employment policies.

This week, human resources handed city councillors a report indicating staff has already done a lot of work to implement the Inuit employment strategy.

Currently 46 per cent, or 43 of the total 94 municipal workers, are Inuit. One of those is in a management position, one is in middle management, seven work at the officer level, 19 are entry-level workers and 15 hold technical jobs.

City council has complained for months that those numbers need to be boosted.

The human resources department points out it is trying to do just that. "Recent proactive efforts have been made to advance Inuit staff," it says in the report to council.

So far, an Inuk employee has been encouraged to take over the chief administrative officer responsibilities, another is being trained to take over human resources’ functions, an Inuk has been hired to perform human resources officer duties and another was recently trained for a finance officer position.

The city has also turned to government and Inuit organizations to get more training funds. The money was used for courses for heavy equipment operators, mechanic apprentices, finance officers, bylaw officers and lands officers.

The policy called for management training to be given to supervisors. Human resources says managers are currently taking courses to improve their managing skills.

It also suggested that directors of the different departments identify Inuit staff who should move up the ladder. The report says human resources is now interviewing Inuit employees who show promise and have the desire to take on a higher level job.

Now that council has more information on the efforts to boost Inuit staff levels, it will have to decide whether to put the $50,000 toward training Inuit or to improving the employment policy.

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