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NDIT, feds support First Nations internships

A partnership between the federal government and the Northern Development Initiative Trust will support four paid internship programs in First Nations communities throughout the north.
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A partnership between the federal government and the Northern Development Initiative Trust will support four paid internship programs in First Nations communities throughout the north.

NDIT and the Department of Indigenous Services Canada have pledged $480,000 over three years to support four paid, 12-month internships per year from 2018 to 2020, according to a press release issued by the trust.

"The Government of Canada is proud to support the First Nations Government Internships program that provides First Nations youth with the tools and experience they need to launch their careers," Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott said in a press release. "I am pleased to see this program extended for the next three years, and look forward to the continued success it brings for both First Nations youth, and the participating communities."

The program is based on NDIT's Local Government internship Program which has run since 2009, and a 2017 pilot project funded by NDIT which supported three internship positions at the Kitselas First Nation, Skidegate Band Council and the Tsilhquot'in National Government.

NDIT's internship program have supported more than 80 internships throughout the region since 2009, of which 93 per cent found employment in northern B.C. during or after their internship.

The majority of internship applicants (71 per cent) were born or grew up in the north, and 76 per cent have remained in the north.

The internships will pay the equivalent of $40,000 per year.

For more information, go online to bit.ly/2ETsCUA.