Hundreds of Indigenous students in the province now have some help paying for post-secondary schooling, thanks to the Business Council of Manitoba.
This year, the Council doled out 400 Indigenous Education Awards worth $3,000 each, for a total of $1.2 million. That's twice what was handed out in 2023/24. Half of the total, about $600,000, was raised by Council members and boosted by an increase in support from the Government of Manitoba with a dollar-for-dollar matching commitment.
This support said Bram Strain, President and CEO of the Business Council of Manitoba, is leading to an increase in people earning a post-secondary education and joining the province's labour market.
"At twenty per cent of our population and growing, this is a real opportunity for Manitoba moving forward, to have greater Indigenous involvement in the workforce and in the entrepreneurial space, and we're trying to facilitate that," he explained.
At the end of the day, Strain added, this program is all about accessibility to education.
"We know, going to school, some of the biggest pressures you can face are financial. So, the award is based solely on financial need. It has nothing to do with marks," he explained, noting the funds cover everything from additional trades education to medical school.
And clearly, there is a desire to pursue these post-secondary opportunities. According to Strain, the Council received 900 applications for the awards this year. He credits the program's manager for their recent focus on outreach.
"Whether that was direct to First Nations, through the schools themselves and to the student populations, high schools, guidance counsellors, the education authorities. We did a lot of marketing so that people were aware," said Strain, noting a few short years ago only 200 applications would have come in.
The awards were presented at a special ceremony in Winnipeg that featured a keynote address from a previous recipient, now a medical student, who described how the award helped her, and her family move forward. The day also included a job fair featuring 40 members of the Business Council and others, allowing students to explore employment opportunities for summer jobs and permanent placements.
You can learn more about the Business Council of Manitoba's Indigenous Education Awards here.