Calgary Aboriginal Youth Program provides paid internships and work experience to teens

This summer, nine teenagers from the Tsuut’ina First Nation will Aboriginal Youth The program aims to stimulate their careers through a paid internship program.

The story of the success of Indigenous youth began when two founders met at the Calgary Art Show and shared how they each made a living. One founder worked for CAREERS: The Next Generation, an Alberta non-profit that works with schools to connect youth with employers and provide them with paid internships. The other founder was a customer service manager at Grey Eagle Resort and Casino.

“This opportunity could change the trajectory of their lives. It’s so inspiring to see them gain confidence, learn life skills and see their future,” said Colleen Waskewitch Runner, co-founder of the program and manager of customer service at Grey Eagle Resort and Casino.

“I told them they should run this place one day, and they started to believe it.”

Through partnerships with CAREERS, Grey Eagle and Many Horses High School, youth in the current program spend the summer learning valuable skills, getting paid, and earning credit toward graduation.

CAREERS director of marketing and communications Stacey Rischaug said it’s all about giving young people a chance to enter the industry.

Get daily national news

Get the day’s top news, politics, economics and current affairs headlines delivered to your inbox once a day.

Colleen Waskewitch Runner said, “If you ask any successful person what got them to where they are today, a lot of times they will recall a time in their life when someone gave them an opportunity, opened doors for them, and gave them the chance to succeed.”

“It’s good for employers and it has a lot of benefits for young people.”

The youth will rotate through several different jobs in the hospitality industry. To ease barriers related to transportation, education and family relationships, the resort provides transportation to and from get off work and daily meals for the on-site seniors.

The teens said the experience is about more than just earning a paycheck, it also gives Indigenous youth living on the reservation hope for the future.

Aurora Big Plume heard about the program through her sister, and she’s been working in the kitchen this summer — an experience that actually made her consider a career in hospitality in the future.

“I love working in the kitchen. I definitely see a future in it now,” she said, adding that she is learning about food contamination, knife skills, food temperatures, money management and more life skills.

She believes the experience saved her life and says young people living on the reservation need reasons like this to have hope for the future.

“I come from a reservation where there are a lot of difficulties. Having this opportunity has changed my mindset and made me feel like our future is bright and we are all supported.”

Marcus Mannimoens, 17, who works in guest services at the Grey Eagle this summer through the program, said it was a good opportunity to gain life skills and experience. He always wanted to be an engineer or physicist.

“I think it’s really important to get this opportunity,” he said, adding that many of his peers are optimistic about the program.

In addition to the hospitality industry, there will be future job opportunities in skilled trades, health care, agriculture and business. Participants in the program must be enrolled in an Alberta high school.

© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.