July 13th, 2022

Custom MBA in Indigenous Reconciliation will support safer access to community social services

The BCAAFC is proud to collaborate with our partners at UVic to co-develop a custom MBA in Indigenous Reconciliation to support safer access to community social services for Indigenous people.  

UVic has demonstrated a commitment to providing culturally relevant education and training opportunities through our collaborative work on the 3C Challenge, an entrepreneurship program that provided 700 Indigenous youth across the province with training and mentorship to start their own small businesses from 2019 to 2021.  

The custom designed MBA program will also build off the success of the BCAAFC Management Training Academy, delivered in partnership with the UVic Peter B. Gustavon School of Business from 2019 to 2020. The Academy covered topics requested by Friendship Centre staff to increase capacity in their Centres. The training content and format was highly regarded by the 20 Friendship Centre staff who graduated from the Academy, and all expressed a desire for future training opportunities.  

The Friendship Centre Movement has over 60 years of experience delivering culturally safe social services for Indigenous people.  

Feedback from BC Friendship Centre Membership and the Social Services Sector Roundtable has been clear:  

• We need to increase our capacity within the non-profit sector. 
• We need to succession plan for new leadership when our leaders retire.
• We need education and training opportunities relevant and specific to our sector’s needs
• We must collaborate to lead reconciliation among the non-profit sector organizations, Indigenous and mainstream. 

The custom MBA program addresses these needs and is an important step towards safer access to community social services for Indigenous people.  

Media:

• UVic to offer an MBA in Indigenous Reconciliation (Global News Morning BC, July 13)
• Indigenous people will have safer access to community social services (BC Gov News, July 8)
• UVic to deliver world’s first custom MBA in Indigenous Reconciliation (Peter B. Gustavson School of Business, July 8)