Participants Indigenous Peoples; People from rural, remote, and northern communities

Northern Entrepreneurs Accessing Training (NEAT)

Contact North’s FSC-funded project Northern Entrepreneurs Accessing Training (NEAT) will support entrepreneurs and SMEs in rural and remote Indigenous communities in northern Ontario and northwest British Columbia to access education and skills training in their community to meet their identified skills training needs in order to continue to innovate. The program aimed to leverage Contact North’s extensive existing partnerships to facilitate interventions specific and unique to entrepreneurs and SMEs within rural and remote Indigenous communities.

Young classmates studying together inside classroom - Education concept

Amongst the intended outcomes of the project, Contact North planned to: build awareness of support available for entrepreneurs and SMEs; support immediate skills and training needs, and; develop capacity for entrepreneurs and SMEs in rural and remote Indigenous communities by linking key stakeholders within the communities to resources and supports. Operating in Northern Ontario, and more recently Northwest BC, the project collaborated with colleges, universities, Indigenous institutes, school boards, provincial government and agencies, which refer clients to Contact North’s training centres and programming.