This article examines a federally funded pre-apprenticeship training programme designed to transition aboriginal northerners living in the Canadian Arctic into trades-related employment. Drawing from interviews involving programme partners and stakeholders, the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership programme that operated in the Beaufort Delta of the North-west Territories from 2009 to 2012 is examined. This training partnership provides insight into challenges associated with administering and delivering a programme in a region that has settled land claims agreements with local aboriginal groups but continues to remain heavily dependent upon government programmes and funding. Findings indicate that programme participation figures obscure stated outcomes of developing long-term sustainable employment for local people. Implications of the programme include improving the provision for education, training and employment for local communities.