Government of Yukon releases What We Heard report on Identifying Barriers to Indigenous Recruitment and Retention and the new Breaking Trail Together Operational Plan 2023–26

As part of the Government of Yukon’s commitment to reducing recruitment barriers and creating culturally safe work environments, the Government of Yukon has released two key documents, including a What We Heard report on Identifying Barriers to Indigenous Recruitment and Retention and the Breaking Trail Together Operational Plan 2023–26.

These documents follow public engagements with Indigenous people to identify and address challenges in the recruitment and retention of Indigenous employees within the Government of Yukon’s public service.

Public engagement took place from June to November 2023 and involved 189 Indigenous participants, both current and past Government of Yukon employees.

Indigenous Yukoners who participated in the public engagement told the Government of Yukon that:

• job security, good pay and benefits, career development opportunities and the ability to make a positive difference in the community are the top reasons why Indigenous Yukoners would be interested in working for the Government of Yukon;
• Indigenous individuals encounter significant barriers when pursuing a career in the public service, experiencing challenges at every stage of the employment journey, from entry to departure, including a perceived lack of flexibility to accommodate family or community responsibilities, biases and stereotypes and challenges navigating the online recruitment system;
• only half of online survey respondents said they understood what was expected of them during the recruitment process;
• the Government of Yukon needs to do more to create a work environment that makes Indigenous employees feel valued, understood, accepted and included; and
• culture plays a significant role in employee retention and Indigenous employees – like all employees – need to feel valued, need to have alignment between personal and organizational values and need clear expectations.

This input was obtained through online, paper surveys and in-person interviews.

These insights informed the development of the Breaking Trail Together Operational Plan 2023–26, which is part of a broader 10-year strategy (2019–29) to improve Indigenous representation within the Government of Yukon’s public service.

Breaking Trail Together takes a collaborative approach to intentionally achieving a Yukon public service that is inclusive of Yukon First Nations people.

The new operational plan for 2023–26 outlines key commitments to addressing these barriers, including more inclusive recruitment practices, culturally safe work environments and enhanced training and development opportunities for Indigenous employees.

This is the second of three-year operational plans that aim to create a responsive and supportive public service workforce, where Indigenous employees feel safe, supported and respected as professionals.

The What We Heard report brings together the views shared by many, all focused on achieving a more inclusive public service workplace for Indigenous people.

The vision of Breaking Trail Together Operational Plan 2023–26 is for the Yukon to be a national trailblazer in achieving a representative public service, inclusive of Yukon First Nation and Indigenous people. Through collaborative efforts, strategic partnerships and a commitment to diversity and inclusion, we are making progress towards realizing this vision.

Minister responsible for Public Service Commission Sandy Silver

Quick facts

• Chapter 22 of Yukon First Nation Final Agreements mandates the Government of Yukon to increase Yukon First Nation representation in its workforce to a level proportional to the Indigenous population within the Yukon.
• As per the 2021 federal census, Indigenous people constitute approximately 22 per cent of the Yukon population. Current Indigenous representation in the Government of Yukon workforce stands at around 13 per cent (as of March 2024, based on voluntary, self-identification).
• A total of 189 surveys were received with 170 responses through the online survey and 19 responses through paper surveys. Most individuals’ responses originated from Whitehorse with a minority from Haines Junction, Carcross, Dawson City and Watson Lake.
• Among the participants, 102 self-identified as Yukon First Nation, while the remaining 87 self-identified as Canadian Indigenous.
• Of the 189 participants, 111 currently work for the Government of Yukon, 37 identify as past employees and 41 participants have never been employed by the Government of Yukon.

Media contact

Laura Seeley
Cabinet Communications
867-332-7627
laura.seeley@yukon.ca

Kelan Deigh
Public Service Commission
867-471-2983
kelan.deigh@yukon.ca

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