Indigenous Communities Public Works Pilot Project Final Report - Susanna Gurr | Greg Lockwood

The concept for the project originated with ASTTBC and the funding opportunity brought the partners together with OTDC as the vehicle (funding recipient) to move the project forward. [...] The shared vision for the project among the partners may have been vague at the start, but in the process of planning and delivering the project and training for the 15 participants, the common interests merged and the partners had a clearer and more unified direction towards achieving the project goals even if the path forward was not always clear. [...] Consequently, due to a capacity issue, the program was not able to benefit from the involvement of Westbank public works staff in the training nor the use of Westbank’s tools, shop, public works settings and land for the practical learning activities in the first half of the training program even though Westbank remained a big supporter of the project. [...] The delivery team believed in the value of the project for the participants and communities, and that motivated them to deliver the training even along a rather bumpy road. [...] The employer noted the updated skills and knowledge of the employees, and more importantly the employer saw the benefits of the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation 24 Indigenous Communities Public Works Project Final Report skills development.