Northern initiatives will help Aboriginals, women get into skilled trades
When Tim Innualuk wanted to train to become an electrician in 1985, he had to leave his home of Pond Inlet on the northern tip of Baffin Island, in what was then still the Northwest Territories, and travel 2,100 kilometres to Aurora College in Fort Smith, N.W.T. For his final two terms of training he had to travel again, this time more than 2,600 kilometres to Lakeland College in Vermilion, Alta.
While the territory in which he grew up is now called Nunavut, little else has changed. Residents who want to become a journeyman in any trade except carpentry still have to leave the territory to complete the training. And unfortunately not everyone is as inclined to travel as Innualuk.
“People in Nunavut are more inclined to stay in Nunavut, particularly in their home community,” said Mac Clendenning, president of Nunavut Arctic College. “That’s why it’s important for us to have this school in the territory. It allows them to get the training they need without leaving and be able to access the jobs we know are there and will be there when they complete the training.”
While the unemployment rate sits at 25 per cent in Nunavut according to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, there are many jobs for those with the right training. The construction industry needs carpenters, plumbers and electricians to build schools, hospitals and houses. The booming mining industry needs welders, millwrights and heavy equipment operators for a variety of mining projects including the Meliadine and Meadowbank gold mines near Rankin Inlet and the Jericho diamond mine near Cambridge Bay.
“There’s a skill shortage in a lot of different sectors, especially in the trades,” said Clendenning. “The demand for people in those jobs far exceeds the supply of local workers. It ends up that a lot of people are brought in from outside of the territory to fill those jobs.”
To help local communities meet these needs, the Government of Nunavut announced it will spend $5.5 million to turn an old plumbing shop in Rankin Inlet into a trade school. The school will be part of the Nunavut Arctic College system and is expected to be fully operational in three years.
The college will also renovate and expand its existing training locations at the Iqaluit campus and Cambridge Bay campus, where the carpentry course is currently offered.
While Clendenning already has an idea about which trades are the most in demand, the college will work with various industries in Nunavut to determine the college’s programming. That way, it can customize its courses to meet the needs of the jobs available in the territory.
Students will be able to complete their journeymen training at the trade school in about three years. This will give Nunavut youth, and adults who weren’t able to make the same kind of commitment as Innualuk, the opportunity to learn a skilled trade and find meaningful employment in their home communities, said Clendenning.
He estimated about 75 to 90 students will enrol in the programs each year in Rankin Inlet and another 40 will enrol in Cambridge Bay and Iqaluit. While those numbers might seem small, the population of Nunavut is only 30,000, so it will make a big difference in terms of how many Nunavummiut are able to get jobs in the skilled trades.
Further west in Whitehorse, Yukon College provides pre-employment courses in carpentry, electrical, general mechanics, plumbing and pipes and welding. But just like in Nunavut, students who want to become journeymen, except in carpentry, need to leave the territory to complete their training.
Even so, the college’s trades courses are full to bursting, which has the program co-ordinator of Yukon Women in Trades and Technology, an education and advocacy organization for women, wishing the territory was getting a new trades school like Nunavut.
“The trades wing is stuffed to capacity,” said Betty Irwin. “There was a time when it was difficult to fill trades courses. But there’s been an upswing and a lot of construction going on, so now there’s a real demand for skilled tradespeople and now the shops are filled to capacity. We could use double the facilities here.”
The Yukon government is hoping the trades frenzy will spill over to women. There has been a lot of talk from employers and government about using women to fill the skilled trades shortages — in Alberta there are an estimated 100,000 open trade positions.
While enrolment in the trades courses at Yukon College has been about 30 per cent women, the Yukon government conducted a study in 1999 and found the number of women working in trades and technology was very low. As a result, Yukon Women in Trades and Technology began offering introductory trades courses for women on the weekend. While the courses were very popular, a followup report in 2005 found little change in employment levels.
“We felt what was needed was a longer, more thorough, full-length program specific for women to help them overcome some of those barriers to employment,” said Kirsten Madsen, a policy analyst with the Government of Yukon’s women’s directorate.
With that in mind, the government, Yukon Women in Trades and Technology and Yukon College created the Women Exploring Trades and Technology program. The full-time, 16-week course will introduce women to carpentry, electrical, general mechanics, plumbing and pipes, and welding. It will also explore the gender issues that might present barriers to their employment in the trades.
“It’s different from a general pre-employment course,” said Madsen. “It’s not just about how to hold a hammer — it’s how to interact with somebody who’s not used to working with a woman in the workplace and all the interpersonal dynamics that women need to be prepared for."
While the territory in which he grew up is now called Nunavut, little else has changed. Residents who want to become a journeyman in any trade except carpentry still have to leave the territory to complete the training. And unfortunately not everyone is as inclined to travel as Innualuk.
“People in Nunavut are more inclined to stay in Nunavut, particularly in their home community,” said Mac Clendenning, president of Nunavut Arctic College. “That’s why it’s important for us to have this school in the territory. It allows them to get the training they need without leaving and be able to access the jobs we know are there and will be there when they complete the training.”
While the unemployment rate sits at 25 per cent in Nunavut according to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, there are many jobs for those with the right training. The construction industry needs carpenters, plumbers and electricians to build schools, hospitals and houses. The booming mining industry needs welders, millwrights and heavy equipment operators for a variety of mining projects including the Meliadine and Meadowbank gold mines near Rankin Inlet and the Jericho diamond mine near Cambridge Bay.
“There’s a skill shortage in a lot of different sectors, especially in the trades,” said Clendenning. “The demand for people in those jobs far exceeds the supply of local workers. It ends up that a lot of people are brought in from outside of the territory to fill those jobs.”
To help local communities meet these needs, the Government of Nunavut announced it will spend $5.5 million to turn an old plumbing shop in Rankin Inlet into a trade school. The school will be part of the Nunavut Arctic College system and is expected to be fully operational in three years.
The college will also renovate and expand its existing training locations at the Iqaluit campus and Cambridge Bay campus, where the carpentry course is currently offered.
While Clendenning already has an idea about which trades are the most in demand, the college will work with various industries in Nunavut to determine the college’s programming. That way, it can customize its courses to meet the needs of the jobs available in the territory.
Students will be able to complete their journeymen training at the trade school in about three years. This will give Nunavut youth, and adults who weren’t able to make the same kind of commitment as Innualuk, the opportunity to learn a skilled trade and find meaningful employment in their home communities, said Clendenning.
He estimated about 75 to 90 students will enrol in the programs each year in Rankin Inlet and another 40 will enrol in Cambridge Bay and Iqaluit. While those numbers might seem small, the population of Nunavut is only 30,000, so it will make a big difference in terms of how many Nunavummiut are able to get jobs in the skilled trades.
Further west in Whitehorse, Yukon College provides pre-employment courses in carpentry, electrical, general mechanics, plumbing and pipes and welding. But just like in Nunavut, students who want to become journeymen, except in carpentry, need to leave the territory to complete their training.
Even so, the college’s trades courses are full to bursting, which has the program co-ordinator of Yukon Women in Trades and Technology, an education and advocacy organization for women, wishing the territory was getting a new trades school like Nunavut.
“The trades wing is stuffed to capacity,” said Betty Irwin. “There was a time when it was difficult to fill trades courses. But there’s been an upswing and a lot of construction going on, so now there’s a real demand for skilled tradespeople and now the shops are filled to capacity. We could use double the facilities here.”
The Yukon government is hoping the trades frenzy will spill over to women. There has been a lot of talk from employers and government about using women to fill the skilled trades shortages — in Alberta there are an estimated 100,000 open trade positions.
While enrolment in the trades courses at Yukon College has been about 30 per cent women, the Yukon government conducted a study in 1999 and found the number of women working in trades and technology was very low. As a result, Yukon Women in Trades and Technology began offering introductory trades courses for women on the weekend. While the courses were very popular, a followup report in 2005 found little change in employment levels.
“We felt what was needed was a longer, more thorough, full-length program specific for women to help them overcome some of those barriers to employment,” said Kirsten Madsen, a policy analyst with the Government of Yukon’s women’s directorate.
With that in mind, the government, Yukon Women in Trades and Technology and Yukon College created the Women Exploring Trades and Technology program. The full-time, 16-week course will introduce women to carpentry, electrical, general mechanics, plumbing and pipes, and welding. It will also explore the gender issues that might present barriers to their employment in the trades.
“It’s different from a general pre-employment course,” said Madsen. “It’s not just about how to hold a hammer — it’s how to interact with somebody who’s not used to working with a woman in the workplace and all the interpersonal dynamics that women need to be prepared for."
