First Nations leaders are unhappy with a federal government plan to offer trades training on reserves.

The Conservative government announced plans to spend $241 million over five years on skills training for young people collecting income assistance on reserves.

The announcement came in the 2013 budget, revealed to the public on Thursday afternoon.

Derek Nepinak, the grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, said the leaders of 63 First Nations communities in the province are furious.

Aboriginal leaders had asked the government for education funding, but Nepinak said this is not what they wanted.

Nepinak said the funding is simply reallocated, and no new money is being made available for First Nation education. “It’s abusive,” said Nepinak.

He said the government is handing First Nations a program they developed instead of consulting with leaders and providing the education funding needed on reserves.

“For the most part, I think they reject that type of relationship,” said Nepinak.

He said he’s not happy that communities have to agree to run skills training programs with the funds in order to receive them.

But skills-training programs that focus on aboriginal students have had some success in the province.

The Aboriginal Centre in Winnipeg offers welding classes, and the program has seen 50 people land full-time jobs after graduating in the past three years.

John Peters is enrolled in the program and training to be a welder.

He said his family moved to Winnipeg to “provide us with a better life.”

Peters said education opportunities and jobs on-reserve are scant, but he’s torn about the government’s new program.

“It’s kind of a good thing, but then there’s that catch," he said.

Chris Munroe, another student in the program, said that catch is having to move back to a reserve to get training.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” Munroe said.

“I wouldn’t want to move back to the reserve to take a course.”

Complicating the issue is the high cost of running skills training programs like the welding course offered at the Aboriginal Centre.

Ted Taylor teaches the course and says safety issues and codes that each community would have to meet.

He said that’ll eat up money that is meant for the training itself.

“I’d be looking at logistics and trying to get all that support and equipment up to reserves,” said Taylor.

The federal government hasn’t yet released details on how the program would work.