b'CCAB MEMBER PROFILEClosing the TRAINING GAPSBy Sarah B. HoodM e l i s s a H a r d y - G i l e s a n d O R I G I N u s eV R t e c h n o l o g y t o m a t c h I n d i g e n o u s j o b s e e k e r s w i t h c a r e e r o p p o r t u n i t i e sE conomicreconciliationisa cultural library where viewers can learnalso allowing me to work on something happening,saysMelissamore about Indigenous culture and tradi- Im so passionate about: bringing oppor-Hardy-Giles, the owner andtions directly from Knowledge Keeperstunities to our people. Im inspired by the inspiration behind ORIGIN, abecause, as Hardy-Giles says, It is verytalent, motivation and creativity Ive seen successful recruiting firm.important for me that ORIGIN supportsfrom all the aspiring entrepreneurs I have ORIGIN began as a recruiting and work- reconciliation in our country. met over the years.force development business in ThunderHardy-Giles was born and raised onORIGINs vision is about Enhancing iden-Bay,Ontario.Today,thecompanyLake Helen Reserve as a member of thetity, purpose and capacity in Indigenous offers unique job connections usingRed Rock Indian Band, an Ojibwe Firstpeople in the spirit of economic reconcil-virtual reality (VR) headsets through itsNation near Nipigon, Ontario. Growingiation, across Canada. In the beginning, ImmersiveLink system. up on-reserve, she imagined her career choices would be limited to traditionalthis meant working with organizations Hardy-Gilesandhercompanyarejobs like teaching, nursing, policing andto connect individuals to employment. receiving national recognition for theirwork in the Band office. Feeling dissat- Gradually, the focus moved toward effort to help Indigenous workers createisfied with this range of possibilities,answeringtheneedforaccessible bettercareersforthemselves.SheHardy-Giles trained in executive officescreening and training to help job seekers received the 2019 Northern Ontarioadministration and human resourceto become successful job candidates.Influential Womens Entrepreneur of themanagement and then spent several Year Award, and ORIGIN, a CCAB member,years working as an HR practitioner. Still,This started our journey with technology was named the 2021 RBC Innovativeshe wished to expand her range of activi- supporting workforce development, says Company of the Year. ties to something more far-reaching. Hardy-Giles. We initially worked with CAT Heavy Equipment Operator simulators ImmersiveLink gives people in remoteIt was not until she branched out as anin our mobile classroom. This classroom locations a chance to train for work wher- entrepreneur and founded ORIGIN, 13is still touring our Nation today and has ever they are. It consists of two librariesyears ago, that Hardy-Giles really hit herbeen very successful. These simulators of VR training content, including the Ourfull career stride. I have always beencould be used to complete comprehen-Careers library which hosts a series of Daya creative, outside-the-box thinker andsive screening for different heavy equip-in the Life videos. Users can visit worksites,love having the freedom to work on proj- ment machinery. While this initially was learn from individuals working there, andects Im really excited about, she says.an effective tool, we quickly realized that get to know more about the path theyTaking the path of entrepreneurshipthis only offered a limited number of took to land their positions. There is alsoallowed me this creative freedom whilecareer options.Aboriginal BUSINESS REPORT 77'