Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (May 27/02) - Talk about a quick turnaround. In just a few months, Jason Carpenter has breathed new life into the Environmental Technology Program at Nunavut Arctic College.

Once the most relevant and popular of the college's programs, interest in ETP waned in recent years. Enrolment and attendance were down.

It was a puzzling situation, especially given the high priority placed on wildlife and the environment by Nunavummiut and the resulting need for an appropriately trained workforce.

Enter Carpenter, an adult educator at the college and now the senior instructor of ETP.

"The value of the diploma was not what it should have been and not what it is going to be," said Carpenter.

Facing the lack of interest head-on, Carpenter took a long look at the curriculum and realized the biggest problem was the lack of involvement and direction from industry.

That prompted him to form a focus group of government and Inuit organizations with a vested interest in environmental and wildlife matters. He asked them about their staffing needs and the sort of skills they wanted from graduates.

"I wanted to know how to make it fun and exciting and relevant to the needs of the industry ... by them giving us curriculum direction," said Carpenter.

"It worked."

Their participation is important, he said. "Once you have industry in there, it's more relevant to the students."

Jobs guaranteed

Combined with a significant publicity blitz that hit the airwaves last fall, Carpenter's initiatives lured 25 potential students to submit their names for a first-year intake this January.

Fourteen of the accepted 16 students wrapped up their first semester May 3. In a clear illustration of how hungry the environmental sector is for ETP participants, Carpenter had requests for 17 summer students from employers.

"Every student had ample employment opportunities for a summer job," he said.

The situation gets even better. According to Carpenter, one of the members of the focus group told him there would be fierce competition for the graduating class of 2003.

"He said, 'We'll be fighting over your graduates,'" laughed Carpenter.

As well as providing students with the option to jump directly into the work force, a transfer agreement with the University of Alberta allows ETP students to go on and earn a bachelor of science degree.

"This is the only program that trains aboriginal people for environmental-sector jobs in Nunavut," he said. "There is a huge need for our graduates. They can be park wardens, fisheries officers, wildlife officers, environmental protection and assessment, in renewable resources."

Bobby Hickes, a 22-year old ETP student from Rankin Inlet, got a summer job with the Department of Sustainable Development. Planning to be a wildlife or a fisheries officer after graduation, Hickes said he learned about the program on the radio and jumped at the chance to apply for a program he now said he would recommend to anyone.

"You learn so much from both worlds," said Hickes. "Everything from being in an office to being out there in a survival situation."

Alden Williams, a senior wildlife officer with DSD, is pleased students are being brought on board to work for the summer. It was a suggestion he once made to a colleague.

"Let's give a summer student who is showing ambition and going to college a summer job. It gives them money and us help and training for the job they're going to apply on when they graduate," said Williams.

"I'm behind it. It's great. I just wish we could do it more," he said.

Nunavut Arctic College is now accepting applications for the next class.