Item R-A33071 (1)-(22) - Headstart Employment Corporation training site in La Ronge

In 1976, Saskatchewan Power Corporation (SaskPower) President Fred Ursel responded to a paper entitled “Native Issues in Saskatchewan” which expressed that people of aboriginal ancestry were having problems gaining and maintaining employment in the province. Ursel asked members of his staff to develop proposals for possible programs to address his concerns. Through program development and consultation with Canada Manpower, a model of pre-trade training and academic upgrading was created. Program candidates were primarily aboriginal individuals seeking employment opportunities.

The Headstart Employment Corporation (HEC) was initiated in Regina, Saskatchewan on March 28, 1978 as a cooperative project of the SaskPower and Canada Employment and Immigration. It was registered as a nonprofit organization under The Business Corporations Act on April 28, 1978. The corporation relied upon volunteer assistance from staff in various departments of SaskPower, the staff of the Regina Plains Community College, and members of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 2067 to further establish and deliver the HEC program. Its volunteer Board of Directors included Fred Bates, Manager of Management Development and Training for SaskPower, who served as Chairman of the Board. The head office of the Headstart Employment Corporation was located at the headquarters of SaskPower in Regina.

The HEC model of academic upgrading and trade skills training proved successful in the program's early years. Trainees of the program worked on various projects contracted out by SaskPower. A full-time consultant/co-ordinator was hired in 1979 to administer the program. The Headstart Employment Corporation expanded to include three crews by 1980, and a second program office in La Ronge in 1981. Substantial projects included the Regina Power Plant project which restored and converted the former plant into the Saskatchewan Science Centre, and work for North-Sask. Electric Ltd., a subsidiary of SaskPower.

Despite the program's accomplishments, a downturn in the economy in the late 1980s coupled with less financial support resulted in the Headstart Employment Corporation's closure in 1988. A formal resolution to dissolve the company was passed at a meeting of the Corporation's shareholders on June 16, 1989. The Headstart Employment Corporation was officially dissolved under The Business Corporations Act on October 31, 1989.