First Nations trust officers will soon be investing band funds based on advice from Lethbridge College.
When the National Aboriginal Trust Officers Association (NATOA) provides its members across Canada with the skills they need to wisely handle billions of dollars in First Nations investments, it will be using a curriculum made at Lethbridge College.
The endeavour is another success story for the Lethbridge College Business Training and Development (BTD) office at the Terry Royer Institute.
NATOA was formed four years ago, when the federal government transferred responsibility for trust accounts to individual bands. NATOA exists to provide Canada’s First Nations communities with resources and information to help them “efficiently create, manage, and operate trusts as a means
to ensure the seven generations yet unborn can benefit from the goals and dreams of the present generation.”
When the organization sought to establish a curriculum to fulfill its mandate, the TD Bank, a NATOA advisor, suggested tapping the expertise of the college’s BTD centre.
“The TD Bank thought of Lethbridge College first and we are really pleased that our previous work has created such a positive reputation,” says Sean Miles, BTD program administrator. “We have worked closely with a number of Aboriginal communities, including the Blood Band, the largest land-based reserve in Canada, and look forward to furthering those relationships.”
NATOA unveiled the curriculum in May at its AGM in Kelowna, B.C. Miles expects upwards of 100 trust officers will make up the first enrolment in the four-month online course, developed by Lethbridge College’s Educational Enhancement Team.
“The EET’s instructional designers, formatters, editors and media specialists did the majority of the work on this project,” says Miles. “Our role is to analyse the needs of the client groups, and when necessary, turn the projects over to the EET to create the training solution.”
As Aboriginal governments, organizations and communities establish trusts to manage funds from land claims, businesses and other sources, they require training to ensure the money is properly managed. Investments stand at close to $5 billion nationally.
Trust officers are not related to band councils. Their education levels run from masters degrees in business administration down to some high school.
“This program will provide participants with the critical thinking skills and foundational knowledge to differentiate good investment opportunities from bad ones,” says Miles. “Trust agreements differ greatly; they’re not cookie-cutter deals.”
Students register for the program through NATOA, but then are directed straight to Lethbridge College online. The initial cohort will include trustees, at the lower end of responsibility, and, later, trust managers. Miles envisions developing an accreditation system which would allow students to apply the course to other post-secondary endeavours.
Ever the wily marketer, Miles also sees an opportunity to export the Lethbridge College program to Australia, a nation with a similar aboriginal system, and customizing it for other countries.
“Canadian First Nations communities have been in need of this training for quite awhile,” says Miles. “We’re happy to be involved in the collaboration in such a significant way.”
