Developing career potential

Service links youth agencies across Canada

Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Oct 30/00) - Former Arctic Bay teacher Ron Elliott wants Nunavut students to be all they can be.

Elliott is the Nunavut field liaison officer for Career Circuit -- a national initiative in use for the past 18 months and now being introduced into the three territories.

The federally funded program offers youth service agencies an Internet-based network of youth services across Canada.

It also offers a database of career resources, a CD-ROM of selected resources and practical on-line training material to support youth service practitioners.

All at no charge.

The program defines youth as between the ages of 15 - 29.

Elliott says it gets individuals thinking about career development and provides youth service agencies with the tools to help them realize their goals.

"Too often in Nunavut, you talk to kids in school and they have aspirations of driving the water or sewage truck for the hamlet and there's just so much more available to them these days," says Elliott.

"This program is a wonderful resource for agencies to show them what's out there and provide direction in how to obtain their goals."

Career Circuit (www.thecircuit.org) is a joint effort of The Canadian Youth Foundation, Canadian Career Development Foundation and the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education.

Its focus is to use training and resources to create an effective nationwide network of youth service agencies.

Participating agencies receive access to a comprehensive searchable directory of youth service agencies across Canada and the opportunity to network on-line with those agencies.

As well as on-line funding tips, the program also offers a current database of career resources with a variety of search features and on-line professional development material for youth service career practitioners.

Elliott visited the Kivalliq earlier this month to introduce the program, which he wants to effectively represent all three Nunavut regions.

"I'm trying to set up a steering committee and get representatives from each region so there's a vision for the Career Circuit development for Nunavut.

"I'm also in the process of collecting information for our website on what's going on in Nunavut in terms of available exchanges and funding ideas to start a program or business initiative.

"This program has great potential for Nunavut and is something badly needed to show our youth how many options they have with their career development."