The Joint Economic Development Initiative, which supports economic opportunities for Indigenous people in New Brunswick, launched its JEDI Trades Trailer last week to introduce skilled trades to Indigenous youths.

The trailer has been under construction for the last year and is part of the Indigenous Skilled Trades Awareness and Readiness project, which is funded by the federal government’s Skilled Trades and Readiness Program. 

JEDI Chief Executive Stanley Barnaby, a member of the Listuguj Miꞌgmaq First Nation, said Indigenous youths may not previously have been exposed to the idea of working in the skilled trades.

“This project is based around creating awareness around the skilled trades as a career and pursuing it as an education,” he said. “We really want to go to the communities in New Brunswick to work with the youth and get them a hands-on experience.”

JEDI hopes the trailer will now visit powwows, schools and other locations to engage with as many people as possible.

According to Barnaby, launching the project in a trailer allows them to travel across the province to reach youth who may live in areas where this kind of engagement is not as accessible.

“With some of our rural communities, they don’t have direct access to our urban sectors,” he said. “We really feel like being Indigenous is understanding our communities are small…so we want to go to their homes and provide that.”

New Brunswick in recent years has seen a lack of people joining the trades, contributing to such issues as the housing crisis, according to the Housing Hub of New Brunswick. Barnaby said he believes that the Skills Trailer program can help alleviate some of these issues.

“The Indigenous population is one of the fastest-growing populations in Canada,” he said. “So we feel like meeting with people can play a big role in the skilled trades.”