Our Approach
SECON Group of Companies believes in working collaboratively with First Nations and Metis communities. The development of mutually beneficial relationships is possible through early consultation and the respecting of First Nations and Metis culture, values and traditions.
Our Journey
Our desire was to evolve as an organization and become a catalyst for Indigenous engagement in industry. This meant our team needed to examine our First Nations and Metis relationships and our internal and external engagement practices. We asked ourselves:
“How do we build a representative and sustainable Indigenous workforce?”
In November 2015, we embarked on a journey to develop a comprehensive engagement strategy foundational to our business practices and goals. Our strategy is a living document and identifies numerous recommendations under the pillars of Education, Employment and Training, and Community & Economic Development.
Our Actions
Our first step was internal; all Senior Management attended an Indigenous Awareness session to increase our personal and professional understanding as we work to develop our cultural competencies. In consolation with community leaders, staff, and members, we are constantly reviewing our engagement strategy and implementing recommendations. Consultation is integral to the development and implementation of relevant and sustainable partnership initiatives.
Subsequent steps connect and align our engagement strategy to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action. Working together with Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, we commit to focusing our efforts on:
- Developing a joint strategy to eliminate educational and employment gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians. (TRC Calls to Action #7)
- Providing educational opportunities for our business partners and employees on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights. (TRC Calls to Action #57) - Applying principles, norms, and standards to corporate policy and core operational activities involving Indigenous peoples and their lands and resources. (TRC Calls to Action #92)
“Our goal is to become the employer of choice known for our high safety record, local inclusion practices and employee retention.”
Cole Raiwet, COO, SECON Group of Companies
Employment & Training
We strive to establish a representative Indigenous workforce that reflects the regions where we do business. With safety as our foundation, we have set our local inclusion radius at 90km surrounding all projects we work on. We build awareness through participation in numerous employment and training initiatives such as career fairs, classroom presentations, providing industry perspectives into programs for educational institutions and communities with commitments to hiring successful participants. Examples of programs we have participated in include:
- Introduction to Mining programs
- JobSkills- Essential Skills and life skills program
- Heavy Equipment Operators
- Providing labour forecasting for new projects to maximize local inclusion opportunities
- Direct engagement of Labour Force Development and Income Assistance workers to create awareness and leverage untapped labour resources
- 1A Driver Training
- Corporate Partner on the EXPORT Database
Education
- Sponsorship of the Export Database spring community rollout initiative for 20 Indigenous communities and organization in Saskatchewan
- Sponsorship and participation in career fairs and annual scholarship events focused on improving access and completion rates of Indigenous students
- Contribution of $100,000 of in-kind labour, materials and services to the renovation of the Kawacatoose First Nation employment and training centre in Quinton, Saskatchewan
Economic & Community Engagement
- Creation of a First Nations owned construction company – KDM Constructors
- Commitment to the local inclusion of Indigenous businesses and workforce on all new and existing projects