An employment initiative launched 4 months ago has already connected employees with employers.

Employment First North Project was launched by Ma-Mow-We-Tak Friendship Centre, in partnership with Vale, to address barriers northern Manitobans and northern aboriginals face.

Coordinator Brad Evenson says 33 out of 92 participants of the program, have gone through the essential skills assessment for positions at Vale:

"Out of our 33 clients that did the ESA, 29 have been accepted on further to the next stages and all that, and at this point we have 7 that have accepted direct hiring offers, we have 6 that are going into the next point program starting December 7th".

Ryan Land with Vale says the program truly reflects the spirit and intent of their Northern Employment Strategy.

Evenson says they’re looking for more employers to join the program as partners. The Frienship Centre held a luncheon yesterday to network with employers looking to become potential partners of the program.