Iqaluit (Sep 13/04) - The Genesis Group Ltd. and MediaWorks Communications were acquired by the Northern Learning Institute, a subsidiary of Nunasi Corporation, on Sept. 1.

This move "gives us the ability to expand private training facilities that are so badly needed in Nunavut, as well as the rest of the North," said Nunasi CEO Fred Hunt.

Genesis' strength is in planning and development of education and training.

The company develops apprenticeship, employee and leadership training curricula for Northern, aboriginal and national clients.

The Northern Learning Institute is the operator of the Academy of Learning.

The Academy of Learning will continue to focus on offering post-secondary certificates and diplomas, while Genesis will build on its experience in curriculum development and expand it professional development services, a Sept. 9 press release from Genesis states.

The institute now owns 50 per cent of the company, with David Connelly, managing director of the institute, holding 20 per cent. The other 30 per cent of the shares will be reserved for possible Northwest Territories aboriginal involvement.

The purchase price for the company was not released, but Connelly said during a news conference last Tuesday the company's combined overall revenue stands at close to $3 million a year.

Former Genesis owners John and Debora Simpson will stay on as managers for four years. They said their services may be offered to the company in the role of consultants after the contract is complete.

The Simpsons said they are excited with the possibility of being able to do more under Nunasi's umbrella.

One of the new projects the company is interested in developing is a national curriculum for aboriginals interested in entering the trades.

The Simpsons met with officials of the federal Industrial Research Assistance Program on the topic last Thursday. The federal civil servants attending the meeting expressed interest in the project, said Debora.

The idea is to make high school upgrading and apprenticeship training modules and gear them toward aboriginals.

"We're making it interactive and putting it on a CD," she said.

To work independently with a CD, Genesis will be looking for individuals with a Grade 9 or a Grade 10 reading level, she said.

Agriculture Canada's rural development branch is also interested in the project, said Simpson.

The first step in the process is to develop a prototype.

"We're probably going to do one module in the math or science levels and develop that. A lot of it has to do with the development of the gaming technology. The gaming tech is the guts of the thing and that's what makes the program work," said Simpson.

In order to program the gaming technology, Genesis has partnered up with Debra Greig's Alberta-based Shirwin Knowledge and Learning Systems Inc.

"The initial part of the contract could be worth as much as $400,000. Once that's done, there's a whole lot more research to do," she said.

John Simpson said the project will address two key issues. First there is a huge demand for apprentices across Canada.

"In Alberta alone they're 40,000 short. There's a huge demand and supply problem.

"A lot of aboriginal people are out of work. Our project bridges that gap and helps to serve both problems at the same time. We're going to train aboriginal Canadians with culturally-sensitive apprenticeship support material to fill the demand for trades and technical workers across Canada," he said.

Simpson expects the material will costs a couple million dollars to produce and could potentially net another five million in profits.