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Six Nations will celebrate the completion of
the GREAT Opportunity Centre this summer after a full year of
construction. This 40,100 square foot facility is located on the 2.4 acre
site behind Ohsweken's Six Nations Employment and Business Centre. The
Opportunity Centre, scheduled for completion in July, will operate as a
community-driven employment and training facility while generating income
to maintain the many programs and services offered by GREAT. Grand River Employment and Training has stimulated employment in the Six Nations community through a variety of programs and services since 1992. Over 4100 people visit our office every year. The next 5 years will see over 1 million dollars in cuts to our funding from Human Resources Development Canada. In order to expand, or even maintain, our community services, we need to be pro-active in our search for new sources of funding. Canada is currently facing a
shortage of skilled Trades people. Only 39% of construction workers are
under the age of 35 causing an employment gap in the field. With the
Aboriginal population rate growing faster than the rest of Canada, we are
realizing the opportunity to fill these jobs with skilled Aboriginal
employees. GREAT's Executive Director, Elvera Garlow, explains one of the
goals of the Opportunity Centre: The Trades wing of the building will
include 3 industrial training bays offering instruction in welding, auto
mechanics, and various construction trades. Currently, Six Nations members
are sent off-reserve for training at institutions such as Cole's school of
Welding and the Toronto School of Business. This off-reserve training
drains millions of dollars from our community. The GREAT Opportunity
Centre will not only keep this money on-reserve, it will also generate
income through tuition fees. It will also provide an alternative to
mainstream training for Aboriginal students from all First Nations. |
Iowne Anderson, GREAT Board member, believes
that teaching skilled trades benefits communities on many levels: "As each
person learns a special trade in his/her chosen field and becomes
competent, they become personally successful. The whole family benefits
and this in turn makes for a successful community. If the person decides
to work elsewhere then the country that employs them benefits. Because our
people are free to live anywhere, they will have achieved a skill or trade
that will last a life time." The Skills area of the Centre will house adult Mohawk and Cayuga Immersion programs, 2 computer labs and an open classroom. Next year we predict 250 people will graduate from our business and trades training followed by 350 graduates in year 2. Eight hundred and fifty square feet of the facility will be dedicated to a coliseum-style theatre. This theatre, complete with state-of-the-art technology, will be used by individuals from the skills area. It will also be available for rent by organizations in the region for lectures, conferences and performances. The GREAT Opportunity Centre was designed by Six Nations' own Two Row Architect. The design is that of 4 modern longhouses joined together by common areas including a food court and naturally lit atrium. This facility is being built for the community by the community. "There is pride in a lot of our Trades people." explains Elvera Garlow, "It's not only the Iron workers, there are a number of other Trades that will be completing the building. …It's saying 'it's ours, we built it, we earned it.'"
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