The Government of Yukon will continue its efforts to increase representation of Indigenous employees in the public service by extending the Indigenous hiring preference initiative until the end of 2029.
The goal of this initiative is to increase the number of Indigenous employees in the Yukon’s public service. The first 15 months of the pilot resulted in 78 successful Indigenous candidates across a total of 632 competitions. This includes new employees and existing employees moving to a new position within the Yukon government.
The pilot began on October 1, 2020, as part of Breaking Trail Together, a 10-year strategic plan to create a Yukon public service that is inclusive and representative of Yukon First Nation people.
Overall, this initiative has demonstrated the value of having a hiring preference for Indigenous candidates but it has not increased Indigenous representation in the Yukon government to the extent that was hoped for.
By extending the program, the Government of Yukon hopes to meet the program goal of increasing Indigenous representation in the public service to 22 per cent.
It is important that the Yukon government reflect the diversity of our territory and the people and communities they serve. The Indigenous hiring preference initiative is contributing to our goal to increase Indigenous representation in the public service and strengthen our Yukon government services and workforce.
Minister of Public Service Commission John Streicker
Yukon government employees who self-identify as Indigenous remains at 15 per cent since 2020.
Yukon’s Indigenous population is 22.1 per cent based on 2021 federal census data.
Preference hiring allows the Yukon government to meet its employment equity objectives as well as Final Agreement obligations.
The goal is to increase the representation of Indigenous people within the public service in different occupations and pay levels.
Preliminary findings for the project are that:
- Indigenous representation did not change significantly during the 18-month period;
- even with the introduction of the project, overall the Yukon government experienced a slight decrease in Indigenous employees;
- there was no negative impact on broader recruitment, as there was no decrease in applicants; and
- Indigenous representation in Yukon government was 15 per cent on October 1, 2020 and remains the same as of March 31, 2021.
Renée Francoeur
Cabinet Communications
867-334-9194
renee.francoeur@yukon.ca
Dana Clark-Moore
Communications, Public Service Commission
867-667-9463
dana.clark@yukon.ca