The Indigenous Youth Ambassador (IYA) Program is an immersive cultural and tourism education program that teaches the foundations of business, through the lens of an Indigenous cultural centre in Whistler BC. This ten-week paid training includes placement in the Food & Beverage, Retail, and Cultural Departments. We provide a safe space for students to gain confidence, skills and work experience, while discovering their personal strengths and interests.
Certification Programs are provided in a safe environment for our students to gain access to First Aid Level 1; Food Safe Level 1; WHIMIS; Serving it Right.
Industry Sectors Introduction The Cultural Centre is proud to teach ambassadors world-class tourism sector customer service skills. Over the ten-week placement, ambassadors work in several departments to learn key skill sets such as point of sales operations, cash handling, public speaking, retail merchandising, food and beverage service, storytelling, and performing arts.
Tourism Related Career Discover enables ambassadors to investigate other tourism venues through hosted off-site visits, where they sample different sub-sectors they may want to consider for future careers.
Professional Development involves oversight of resume building, job searching, professional workplace behavior, and interview skills. We work closely with WorkBC to ensure the best opportunities for ambassadors to find job placements following their ten weeks paid training program.
Mentorship is provided by cultural leaders, elders, council members and cultural ambassador peers as they share personal stories and cultural protocol information; this is done through visual art, song, story and crafting. Interaction with the ambassadors gives them a better understanding of where they come from and it empowers them to speak confidently with guests visiting the Cultural Centre.
SLCC Revenue and Labour Support is in turn provided by students for departments once have been trained to handle daily business. This allows our Cultural Ambassadors and leaders time to work on special projects and tackle more in-depth work. The SLCC also benefits from trained staff once IYA students graduate, by providing a labour pool.
Positive Cultural Awareness for the Squamish and Lil’wat Nations is a result from training its members to be ambassadors for their culture and history. A base cultural knowledge is provided during the program through cultural experts, so that students learn how to represent and speak about their Nations effectively.
Accreditation for graduates of the IYA Program are available through Capilano University and BCIT who want to continue education in one of their postsecondary courses.
This program has its perks!
Interested in applying?
The next IYA Program starts October 8, 2025, with training 4 days per week (Wednesday – Saturday) for 10 weeks. The rate is minimum wage, plus a Bonus for participation and completion. We welcome applications from Indigenous youth with the following qualifications:
For enquiries or to apply please contact Allison Burns-Joseph, Director of Culture and IYA at 778.877.6330 or allison.burnsjoseph@slcc.ca.
The IYA program began prior to the opening of the Cultural Centre and operated out of regional educational institutions and tourism venues. Once the Cultural Centre opened in 2008, the IYA program had a permanent home to train on-the-job skills in a cultural tourism venue focused on sharing the two Nations’ histories, arts and cultures of the Squamish and Lil’wat Peoples.
The IYA is funded by Indigenous Tourism BC (ITBC) We put our hands up to ITBC for continually supporting the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre and sustaining this program.
The IYA is funded by Native Northwest through the Native Northwest Hope and Healing Programming, directly supporting youth in the IYA program with meal programming, childcare, counselling, support for lateral kindness and time with Elders, circle sessions, mental health first aid, and other Indigenous-specific support needs. We raise our hands to Native Northwest for supporting the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre and sustaining the well-being of the Indigenous Youth Ambassadors.
We raise our hands to Whistler Blackcomb Foundation, Sea to Sky Gondola, Royal Bank of Canada, and 100 Women Who Care Whistler for supporting the IYA Program at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre.
The Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Líḻwat7ul Cultural Centre (SLCC) in Whistler is a non-profit registered charity*, an Indigenous-owned organization, and employs over 90% Indigenous Ambassadors. The SLCC greatly appreciates the support of Allyship partners, memberships, and donations from the wider community that all support the work at the SLCC. All proceeds are invested into meaningful employment, training (including Indigenous Youth Ambassador Program) and cultural revitalization programs for the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and Lil̓wat7úl (Lil’wat Nation), through the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Líḻwat7ul Cultural Centre.
Location: Whistler, BC
Knowledgeable Cultural Ambassadors share their cultural teachings with guests during guided tours; visit our Group Tours page for more information.
Discover our unique style of modern First Nation’s cuisine such as bannock, salmon and venison. Visit the Thunderbird Café.
Discover our unique selection of First Nations merchandise ranging from handcrafted works of art, to home accents, clothing and accessories, jewellery, pottery, baskets, books and souvenir merchandise. Visit the Gallery & Gift Shop.
Weddings at the SLCC are some of the most spectacular; learn more about our venue as your wedding location by visiting slcc.ca/weddings.
