Project Connect: Professional Project Administrator Program

The Issue

As the fastest growing and youngest population in Canada, Indigenous Peoples are a tremendous resource for addressing skills shortages. However, Indigenous people continue to experience inequities in skills and training. This is reflected in lower employment and participation rates, higher unemployment rates, and greater vulnerability to economic downturns compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts.

Some of the barriers experienced by Indigenous Peoples in pursuing professional career training include being geographically remote from training or educational facilities, having lower-than-average high school completion rates, and facing financial challenges paying fees and purchasing training materials and supplies.

In addition, many educational institutions do not integrate Indigenous cultural perspectives, knowledge or ways of knowing. Most employment training programs and postsecondary institutions do not accommodate the realities faced by Indigenous learners, or integrate Indigenous culture and epistemology. 

Understanding these realities, Royal Roads University aimed to build strong relationships between Indigenous communities and the university. It also aimed for learners to thrive in culturally relevant and meaningful learning environments. In Phase 1 of the project (2020–2023), staff from Professional and Continuing Studies at Royal Roads University worked closely with staff responsible for training initiatives at Métis Nation British Columbia to develop a training solution that would address these challenges. 

Building on the impact of that collaboration, in Phase 2 (2023–2024) Royal Roads sought to build relationships with Indigenous communities in the Sahtu Region, northern Manitoba and Nunavut. Through these engagements, Royal Roads hoped to better understand the requirements, needs and expectations of potential partners and to tailor their existing skill-building opportunities for those communities.

What We Investigated

During Phase 1 of the project, from 2020–2023, through the collaboration with Métis Nation British Columbia and an assessment of the province’s labour market, the Professional Project Administrator program was conceived. The program would be an innovative mix of credit and non-credit courses aimed at preparing graduates for employment with a broad range of skills in project administration. It would offer strong connections to Métis Culture, and wraparound supports for students. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program was initially offered fully online instead of as a blended delivery model, which was originally proposed to the Future Skills Centre.

The Professional Project Administrator program is an 18-week training program with six cohorts of participants, working closely with Métis Nation British Columbia, other First Nations in BC, and the Otipemisiwak Métis Government between 2020–2023. The program included three university credit courses and four non-credit employment skills courses focused on the following:

• project management
• collective leadership
• data management and reporting
• Microsoft Office Suite
• proposal writing
• digital literacy 
• communications

The program included wraparound services available during and after students’ programs of study. Wraparound services included the cultural support of an Elder, cultural activities, career training and support, coaching support and access to an Indigenous counsellor. 

In Phase 1, the evaluation sought to better understand the impact of the Professional Project Administrator program on the Indigenous learning community, and to identify program design characteristics and student support requirements that could inform similar educational programs in the future. The evaluation of Phase 1 utilized a participatory action research approach and followed a qualitative case study methodology.
Building on the success of the relationship-building in Phase 1 with Métis Nation British Columbia, other First Nations in BC, and the Otipemisiwak Métis Government, in Phase 2 (2023–2024) Royal Roads engaged with Indigenous communities in the Sahtu Region, northern Manitoba (partnering with University College of the North) and Nunavut to build relationships and better understand the requirements, needs and expectations of potential partners and skill-building opportunities. Royal Roads continued to design and deliver face-to-face and blended culturally responsive training using the Professional Project Administrator program and worked with the engaged communities to conduct needs assessments with regional actors and employers.

What We’re Learning

During Phase 1 of the project, from 2020–2023, the Professional Project Administrator program was delivered six times, to a total of 93 students. Across the first three pilot cohorts, 98% of students graduated from the program, and 91% from the following three. Students reported gaining applicable skills, confidence, cultural connection and employment. Interviews conducted with students found strong student satisfaction with the program overall. Seventy-four percent of graduates were employed post-program vs. 51% pre-program. As part of a follow-up evaluation process in fall 2022, 15 out of 17 of the graduates surveyed indicated that they had positions related to their training in the Professional Project Administrator program. 

The evaluation of the initial three cohorts of the Professional Project Administrator program identified woven elements of program design to be integrated into relevant knowledge and skills programming going forward, including:

• caring community that cultivates a sense of belonging among students and fosters trust between students, their families and staff;
• wraparound supports that support access. This includes career counselling, professional coaching; mental health counselling; learning stipends; and laptops with Microsoft Office. During the first three cohorts, wraparound supports contributed to student engagement and boosted confidence. Many graduates spoke about how important the funding was that enabled living allowances and access to a computer that they could keep after having successfully completed the program;
• cultural learning. The findings indicate a clear link between culture and the Indigenous students’ sense of belonging and engagement in the program. For example, participating in cultural activities with an Elder was one component of the Professional Project Administrator program. The cultural element was valuable in raising students’ self-esteem around being Métis. It helped them understand they were worthy of the funding they were getting to be in the program. 

In Phase 2 of the project from 2023–2024, Royal Roads learned important lessons from site visits on partnering in good ways with Indigenous communities, including the value of showing up in person to build trusting, long-lasting relationships; designing programming to fit community culture and history; and inviting Elders to advise on respectful protocol for engagement, including appropriate gifting as a token of respect for the host community. 

The communities visited were most interested in education and training that offered pathways to a degree program, including administrative skills and land and water management. Modes of delivery that were of most interest included a blended model of online and in person; internships and apprenticeships; cohort models; field schools; training and coaching; micro-credentials; and an outdoor component to the program. 

Why It Matters

Educational institutions have historically played and continue to play an active role in harming Indigenous communities, including through extractive research, problematic program delivery, and theft and/or devaluation of Traditional Knowledge. 

When Royal Roads seeks to reach out and build relationships with northern Indigenous communities, they are working to demonstrate that they intend to build relationships ethically and meaningfully in the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation and not replicate or reproduce these harms. This is a challenge that must be considered in approach, timelines and follow-through. To build sustainable relationships, postsecondary institutions need to consider how to invest in relationship-building outside of specific funding pots. It would be detrimental to relationship-building if staff were only supported to engage with communities when the institution is being paid by a funder to do so.

This project provides a template for other non-Indigenous postsecondary institutions who want to work more closely with First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities. The results to date provide decision-makers with practical directions for program design and engagement, emphasizing strong and effective partnerships between communities and postsecondary institutions. The results are also instructive for other types of non-Indigenous institutions, beyond postsecondary education.

State of Skills:
Supporting Indigenous and Northern Entrepreneurship and SMEs

Indigenous and Northern entrepreneurship and businesses play a crucial role in bolstering local economies by supporting economic diversification, job creation and community development. 

Read Thematic Report

What’s Next

The successful results from Phases 1 and 2 of the project from Royal Roads has led to new partnership developments with Indigenous and northern communities. 

In Phase 3 of the project (2025) Royal Roads is continuing delivery of the Professional Project Administrator program in the Sahtu region. At the same time, the university is doing the following: 

• developing and implementing environmental remediation-focused training in Délı̨nę, in Northwest Territories; 
• developing options for bridging to employment/further education program and employment and training coordinator professional development courses in partnership with Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc. and University College of the North;
• ongoing consultation with the Government of Nunavut on alternative pathways to postsecondary education, including degree completion, for learners in Nunavut, with a focus on requirements for devolution careers. 

Evaluation of Phase 3 is expected in late 2025.