NISHINA
Build the capability
NISHINA develops the knowledge, practices, tools and internal capability required to recruit differently.
Explore NISHINA
Talent iQ
Creating meaningful careers for Indigenous talent.
We help organizations turn their commitment to Indigenous employment into the knowledge, relationships and recruitment practices that create lasting opportunities.
100% Indigenous-owned business
The gap we close
The intention is there.
But how do you turn it into meaningful action?
Many organizations want to hire more Indigenous talent and build stronger relationships with Indigenous communities.
But intention alone doesn’t change recruitment practices, candidate experiences or career outcomes.
That’s the gap Talent iQ helps close.
How Talent iQ helps
How can Talent iQ help?
Programs
RISE
For the people leading this work
Reflecting · Inspiring · Sharing · Elevating
RISE brings together professionals working in Indigenous relations to reflect, learn, share experiences and strengthen their ability to influence lasting change within their organizations.
Explore RISEServices
Indigenous Recruitment
Access the capability
Talent iQ provides specialized recruitment support to help your organization attract, engage and hire Indigenous talent with intention and care.
I’m interested in recruitment supportConsulting + Training
Customized support
Customized advisory and learning experiences designed around your organization’s needs, from Indigenous talent and recruitment practices to Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Certification.
Explore Consulting + TrainingOrganizations we have worked with
NISHINA
Recruit with intention.
Build with purpose.
Build the capability. Put it into practice.
3
weeks to learn
12
months to implement
2
pathways built around the organization’s reality
NISHINA helps organizations examine how they recruit Indigenous talent, identify where change is needed, and build the internal capability to do things differently.
The learning starts the process. The following 12 months help turn learning into changed organizational practice.
Build existing capability
For organizations with established Talent Acquisition or HR teams.
Create new capability
For organizations prepared to create a new Talent Acquisition role and develop shared capability through an Indigenous participant working alongside an existing TA/HR professional.
Our philosophy
How we believe change happens.
Knowledge
Change begins with understanding.
Before organizations can change how they act, they have to understand what they may not see.
Connection
Relationships change what’s possible.
Trust is built through listening, reciprocity and genuine relationships, not transactions.
Culture
Hiring is only the beginning.
Meaningful careers happen when people have the opportunity to belong, contribute, grow and lead.
Knowledge changes how we see. Connection changes how we relate. Culture changes what becomes possible.
Founder & principal
Meet Brigitte Skeene
Brigitte Skeene · Founder, Talent iQ · Innue from Mashteuiatsh
“Our differences aren’t obstacles to overcome. They’re a richness to understand.”
For more than 30 years, Brigitte Skeene has worked inside the talent and organizational systems Talent iQ now helps organizations change.
Her career has included work with major organizations and human capital consultancies, including Apple, Microsoft, Bayer, Korn Ferry, Pratt & Whitney and CAE. That experience gave her a close understanding of the human dynamics behind every business strategy: how we build trust, how we communicate, how we collaborate, and how cultural differences shape all of it.
Her perspective is also shaped by who she is: an Innu woman from Mashteuiatsh, and by Indigenous values and approaches grounded in relationship, listening and responsibility.
Brigitte brings these experiences together in how she works: listening deeply, asking different questions and helping organizations see what conventional approaches can sometimes miss. Her work invites people to move beyond intention toward greater understanding, stronger relationships and different ways of working.
Talent iQ brings those experiences together around one purpose: creating more meaningful career opportunities for Indigenous talent.
Brigitte is also a certified Cultural Intelligence (CQ) facilitator, work she delivers in partnership with adn conférencier.e.s.
Our principles
What we believe
Many Indigenous people approach organizations with caution, and that caution has been earned. Trust has been broken often enough that it now has to be built first. This is why relationships come before recruitment, and why credibility cannot be a marketing exercise.
- We listen before we act.
- We build relationships before solutions.
- We build capability rather than dependency.
- And we measure success not only by who gets hired, but by the careers that become possible.
Resources
Ideas and resources to help you move forward.
Explore practical guides, whitepapers and tools to deepen your understanding of Indigenous talent, recruitment and workplace inclusion.
Guide
Guide to respectful and inclusive recruitment of Indigenous talent
This guide was created out of a deep commitment to changing recruitment practices. It aims to support employers in a genuine approach to inclusion.
DownloadGuide
Should Indigenous Peoples Be Part of Your Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy?
A guide to understanding the issues, evaluating your strategy and shaping your organizational approach.
DownloadReference framework · In French
Cadre de référence pour le rôle de Responsable des relations avec les Autochtones
One cohort wrote the reference framework for their own role.
ExploreLet’s talk
Ready to turn intention into action?
Every organization starts from a different place. Tell us where you are and what you’re trying to change. We’ll help you determine the right next step.