Employment
We have a young and growing workforce with increasing levels of educational attainment.
Of our 818 members, 553 (68%) are of an employable age, though many rely on income assistance to meet their basic needs. The majority of Coldwater workers are employed in government and forestry sector jobs, though members have expressed great interest in diversifying career options.
We currently offer employment services such as support for computer training in our Access Centre, small machines operator training, and small business support services. Additional training and economic development are still required to raise employment levels among our membership.
A 2009 survey of Coldwater members revealed that the full-time to part-time worker ratio for our members was approximately 60:40, a figure that was relatively constant for our on-reserve and off-reserve members. However, figures on the length of employment for Coldwater members revealed that only 27% of members living on reserve had been employed continuously over the past year compared to 43% for those living off-reserve. Although these employment rates are considerably lower than employment rates in neighbouring metropolitan areas, they are also indicative to some extent of the seasonal nature of natural resource sector work in the region.