PRINCE GEORGE – A pilot project that provides First Nations government internships in northern BC just received a financial boost, thanks to a partnership between the province’s Northern Development Initiative Trust and the Government of Canada.
The Trust and the Department of Indigenous Services Canada have together committed $480,000 over the next three years to support First Nations Government Internships for First Nations and tribal councils located within the Trust’s service area.
The program will support up to four paid internships in First Nations communities throughout northern B.C. from 2018 to 2020. Modeled after the Trust’s successful Local Government Internship Program, the program will see four 12-month internships available each year in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
The internships pay the equivalent of $40,000 per year, and offer recent university graduates an opportunity to pursue fulfilling and rewarding careers in band or First Nations’ government administration.
The pilot project was launched in 2017 between the Trust and Indigenous Services Canada and saw three interns successfully placed in host communities that included the Kitselas First Nation near Terrace, Skidegate Band Council on Haida Gwaii, and the Tsilhqot’in National Government in Williams Lake.
The goal of the program is to boost capacity in First Nations communities, support administrative excellence, and create rewarding career opportunities for indigenous youth.
“It’s extremely important that we continue to find innovative new ways to support capacity building, sustainability, and career opportunities in northern First Nations communities,” says Joel McKay, CEO, Northern Development Initiative Trust. “I’m confident that this project will generate the same positive results we’ve seen with our other internship programs.”
The program also meets one of the Trust’s strategic goals to support investments in indigenous communities, and represents a 50-50 partnership between the Trust and Indigenous Services Canada. Each organization is committing $240,000 to the project over the next three years.
Applications for interested intern candidates and host First Nations communities are now available on the Trust’s website.
