Learn-and-Earn:
a new pathway to NITEP
for Indigenous youth

In 2006, 44 percent of Indigenous youth over the age of 15 did not have a high school diploma, compared to 24 percent overall. The incompletion rate for high school among Indigenous youth living on-reserve is even more troubling. Equally significant, Indigenous learners have long faced multiple obstacles to accessing post-secondary education, including financial barriers.

Unfortunately, provincial demand for educators has resulted in teachers in First Nations band-operated schools leaving communities for opportunities in public school classrooms. On-reserve schools historically have and continue to face profound challenges recruiting and retaining experienced teachers.

The Indigenous Teacher Education Program (NITEP) is well-established in the Faculty of Education at UBC and prepares Indigenous teachers for roles in classrooms, schools, and communities.

Your support for the Learn-and-Earn program would enable students to work part-time as EA’s upon high school completion, earning money while becoming certified teachers within NITEP. As NITEP students, they would receive holistic supports nurturing their cultural identity and tutoring to service their academic needs.

In this innovative Learn-and-Earn program, a cohort of 30 Indigenous youth will graduate with EA qualifications and transition into NITEP, understanding the language, cultures, and learning needs of Indigenous students.

Please make a donation to support the Learn-and-Earn program. Your gift will help this generation of Indigenous educators become aspirational role models — helping young learners reclaim their culture and education on the path to a brighter future.