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The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO), in collaboration with Indigenous Tourism Ontario (ITO), and the Ontario Tourism Education Corporation (OTEC), are now accepting applications for A Three Fires Collaborative Quest Program - a program designed to support recovery and growth of the province’s Indigenous tourism workforce by building the labour pool and filling critical gaps within the industry.

The program, aptly named A Three Fires Collaborative Quest, will be executed in three phases - each managed by one of the three aforementioned partners respectively.

Indigenous tourism businesses will receive one-on-one coaching and support from ITO’s Indigenous Business Advisory (IBA) Program to assist in getting them market ready for the reopening. The structured content delivered to participants of the IBA Program will address all areas of a tourism operation required for business sustainability and success and will follow market-ready standards established specifically for the Indigenous tourism industry.

The second fire will be managed by OTEC who will design and execute workshops to provide customized frontline training for 100+ Indigenous tourism employees as well as the IBA group.

The third fire, executed by TIAO, is an employee-to-employer matching event designed to bridge the gap between the other two fires by helping Indigenous tourism employees find employers, and conversely, tourism businesses (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous) find employees.

To apply for the program as a potential employee, you must self-identify as Indigenous. You will have the opportunity to participate in training workshops facilitated by OTEC and you will be matched with tourism employers to complete a paid job placement.

To apply for the program as an employer, you must be a tourism business in Ontario, and you must be willing to support your new employee’s training and development in collaboration with the program. After completing the program you will be eligible to receive a wage subsidy of 30%, to a maximum of $3,000 per employee hired.

To apply, click here.