Indigenous Student Employment Opportunity/Testimonials

Overview

Information for Students

Testimonials

Thomas Nowlin, Metis, Alberta

I am surrounded by a lot of allies who know the value of having Indigenous colleagues working on every program. I see non-Indigenous people making time to listen, learn the issues and knowing when not to be the lead on things. Every Indigenous employee is strongly encouraged to join the Indigenous Employee Network, and we have 130 members. One of my colleagues is a Water Walker and she is supported to take time off to do that, another one was able to move back to her community through teleworking. Environment and Climate Change Canada encourages us to try new jobs and move around. I worked summers and part-time for three years as a Program Assistant at the Lake Winnipeg Water Basin Program. Later I switched jobs to join the new Canada Water Agency, where I was bridged into a full-time job after graduation. There are an enormous number of careers available within the public service. As you’re getting ready to graduate, be sure to network and to let managers know that you are bridge-able into a full-time position.

Holly Laforme, Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, Ontario

My student job gave me amazing field experience that complimented my studies in nutritional and nutraceutical sciences. I worked with inspectors at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency visiting huge warehouses, farms and factories to inspect fresh produce, dairy, meat and eggs. My team went out of their way to make sure I was adjusting well. When I started the job, my manager set up tours of all the different places that related to key positions at the agency. Colleagues and managers would seek me out for coffee chats to find out what I was interested in and what I aspired to be professionally, so they could offer guidance. That warm welcome and seeing all of the different career paths and portfolios my colleagues had worked on, inspired me to pursue a career in the federal public service. When I was close to graduation my team advised me to put myself immediately into a student pool for bridging. One year later, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Public Health Agency of Canada contacted me for interviews. I chose to join the Public Health Agency as a Junior Policy Analyst, and I’m loving it.

Amber Letendre, Metis, Alberta

When I was in my fourth year of studies in health sciences, I took a one-year Federal Student Work Experience job with Indigenous Services Canada. My team brought me in to work on every file they touched, so I could get as much experience as possible. The variety of work and ability to help advance Indigenous rights and issues convinced me to pursue a career in the federal public service. My advice to students? Dive into the work, don’t wait to be asked. Put in the effort to get noticed: do quality work and network with everyone you meet to the best of your ability. My advice for managers: create a specific student onboarding guide and include links to Indigenous programming and networks. Being a new student in the federal public service is overwhelming. I compiled an onboarding guide for the students coming after me. It contained links to all the possible resources a student could use, like GCconnex, student wiki pages and healing lodges, as well a list of popular acronyms and our department’s scope and mission.

Camille Forbes, Metis, Manitoba

I’ve worked as a student in the Federal Student Work Experience Program since June 2019. I’ve had six different jobs in various departments like Indigenous Services Canada, Environment and Climate Change and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. The jobs I’ve liked best are those where I’m part of a passionate group that is making positive steps forward in working with Indigenous people. I like being part of the change that is happening right now. I’ve also applied what I learn in my jobs to my university studies in environmental sciences. I did a project on how to improve the drinking water in a First Nation community using the research and knowledge from my student jobs.