The Commission, a collective
As one of the regional commissions of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL), the First Nations Human Resources Development Commission of Quebec (FNHRDCQ) administers, on behalf of 27 First Nations communities, the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) Program and Urban ISET Program, which supports First Nations, Métis and Inuit people living in urban areas across Quebec.
Through its network of 31 Employment and Training Service Centres (ETSCs), located in 27 First Nations communities and four urban centres (Montreal, Quebec City, Val-d’Or and Sept-Îles), the FNHRDCQ assists clients entering the labour market by offering various employment and training measures.
Values
Respect • Identity • Integrity Solidarity • Commitment
Our mission
To contribute to the personal and professional fulfilment of First Nations by actively supporting their path to employment.
History
In 1992, through a co-management process with the Department of Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), the Regional Aboriginal Management Board of Quebec (RAMBQ) managed the programs that resulted from the Pathways to Success Strategy. The RAMBQ included all the Aboriginal communities of Quebec, the points of service in the urban areas of Montreal and Quebec City as well as Aboriginal organizations including Quebec Native Women (QNW), the Regroupement des centres d’amitié autochtones du Québec (RCAAQ) and the Native Alliance of Quebec.
From 1996 to 1999, the joint management approach was replaced by contribution agreements for four jurisdictional groups, including the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL), the Kativik Regional Authority (KRG), the Cree Regional Authority (CRA) and the Algonquin Nation Programs and Services Secretariat (ANPSS), in the form of regional bilateral agreements.
The momentum created by the Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) and First Nations self-government priorities had positively influenced a new federal strategy.
In March 1996, in order to assume the new responsibilities of the regional bilateral agreement, in terms of training and workforce development, the First Nations Human Resources Development Commission (FNHRDCQ) was created by the Assembly of Chiefs of the AFNQL. It brings together 29 signatory communities, two urban service points, the QNW and RCAAQ organizations.
The regional representatives’ table adopts the principle that a client-centred approach must be maintained in the management of employability measures and that client services are the main reason for this.
Several working committees within this regional table are created from:
- 1) develop employment measures;
- 2) establish accountability mechanisms;
- 3) define the Part II management of the Employment Insurance funds;
- 4) set targeted results.
Beginning in 2000, the Regional Bilateral Agreements were replaced by the Aboriginal Human Resources Development Agreements (AHRDAs) as part of a new federal strategy. The AHRDAs will have three new components: a youth component, a disability component and an urban component that will allow the FNHRDCQ to develop a third point of service in an urban setting. Following a call for applications, the city of Val-d’Or was selected.
Since 2010, funding agreements with the federal government have been in place under the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ASETS).
The FNHRDCQ is composed of the Regional office in Kahnawake and 31 Employment and Training Service Centres located in 27 communities and four urban centres: Montreal, Quebec, Sept-Iles and Val d’or.