“Issues, like people, have histories,” says Winston McLean, a consultant who recently co-led the first Aboriginal awareness training session for PotashCorp employees in Saskatoon. “To address issues, you have to understand the history behind them.”

Understanding issues in Aboriginal relations may be a key to the future of both the province and PotashCorp: over the next 25 years, the number of First Nations and Métis people in Saskatchewan is projected to double to more than 350,000. Many of those people will be part of the next generation of PotashCorp’s workforce, and the company is doing everything it can to prepare to compete for the best of those workers.

“We need to ensure that our company, and our work place, is ready to welcome and integrate First Nations and Métis people into our sites and our corporate office,” said Garth Moore, President of PCS Potash. “We need to provide the opportunity for them to succeed.”

As an early step in preparing for the shifting workforce, PotashCorp has begun to provide Saskatchewan employees with Aboriginal Awareness Education Sessions – half-day workshops designed to promote understanding on both sides of the relationship. McLean’s Iron Wolf Consulting is currently working with John Lagimodiere, a Métis businessman and publisher of the Eagle Feather News, to lead the sessions. Lagimodiere and McLean were among a large number of groups to bid for the opportunity to train PotashCorp employees.

”The sessions are a great opportunity to get at the root of some of the misconceptions that both sides have –the things we all learned in school that were wrong,” says Lagimodiere, who as of early June had administered sessions to about half of the company’s Saskatchewan employees along with  the company’s Board of Directors. “People are embracing the opportunity to learn what they can, and the feedback has been among the most positive we’ve seen from any company we’ve worked with.”

“Our plan is to have everyone attend a session by the fall, including senior management,” says Leanne Bellegarde, PotashCorp’s Director, Aboriginal Strategy. “From there we can start to think about how to grow the program to cover issues in greater depth. We’ve already received suggestions for future topics. It’s very gratifying to see the level of interest so far.”

Internal awareness training is only part of PotashCorp’s Aboriginal strategy: to compete for talent, the company is also stepping up outreach in communities to promote opportunities and provide training for talented First Nations and Métis people. “We need to be a leader in bringing in the best people,” says Moore.  “Many of the initiatives we have underway will help ensure that we’re successful.”

“Things are turning around within the Aboriginal communities in Saskatchewan,” Lagimodiere told seminar participants. “There is a whole peer group that are providing the leadership, and bringing along the next generation.”