BRITISH COLUMBIA - Vancouver's Seabridge Gold has made a $100,000 contribution to the British Columbia Aboriginal Mines Training Association (BC AMTA). This contribution will help fund the delivery of an essential skills upgrading program in three Aboriginal communities in the northwestern part of the province.
"Responsible mine development is about finding ways to ensure that the benefits of mining are shared, and that includes hiring locally and supporting economic development in regions where projects are based," said Jay Layman, Seabridge's executive VP and COO. "Our contribution to BC AMTA's Pathways to Success program was the right decision for us to make."
The Pathways to Success (P2S) program provides Aboriginal candidates access to learning tools and resources to enhance their overall employability. P2S incorporates workplace based training, job readiness and skills enhancement, with a focus on helping students to develop literacy skills (including reading, writing and numeracy) so that they can attain the necessary prerequisites for occupational training. Seabridge's contribution will support the delivery of three, 10-person PS2 training programs in Gitanyow, Gitxsan and Tahltan communities.
The BC AMTA is a program of the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia (AMEBC.ca/policy/aboriginal-and-community-engagement/BC-AMTA.aspx).
Seabridge is the owner/operator of the advanced KSM exploration project in British Columbia and the Courageous Lake project in the Northwest Territories. Please visit SeabridgeGold.net.
Comments
David Watkins
BCAMTA has built a successful, cost effective, “best practise” program to train and transition aboriginal and other people into the work force, most noteably in communitioes suffering high levels of unemployment. It has received excellent support from the mining industry including companies like Seabridge and NewGold, organizations such as AME BC and the BC Minng Association, First Nations, and BC educational institutions. Core funding originally came from the federal government, but that funding has been withdrawn. Unfortunately, neither the federal nor the provincial governments, who wax eloquent on the need for jobs and training, have committeed new funds yet to support continuation of the program. Consequently, its future is now in jeopardy.