The Portage Rotary Club luncheon today heard from Southern Health-Santé Sud Regional Director of Recruitment and Indigenous Employment Holly Leost. Leost spoke about employment for aboriginal young people.

(L-R) Lorraine Daniels & Holly Leost"We're trying to form partnerships with the businesses that we have within Portage la Prairie," Leost explains. "We have a growing indigenous workforce. These young people are looking for opportunities to get employed. We need the businesses to come and work with us and sort out how can we advise our young people about what opportunities are there for them, and what education they need as well as what training the businesses want them to have."

Long Plain Employment Training Program Manager Lorraine Daniels also spoke, and explained how their efforts are working. Her grand-daughter took an aboriginal health care internship program, moved into health care aid training and is now a certified health care aid. Daniels says she was a casual call-in for over a year and was just hired full-time.

Leost says an I.A.N.E. (Interprovincial Aboriginal Native Employment) planning meeting is taking place February 16th, from 9:00 a.m. until Noon at the Arrowhead Corp. building on the west end of Crescent Avenue with refreshments served, and businesses are invited.