FORT SIMPSON -Dwight Page would like to get a trade in construction, maybe carpentry.

"I like making things out of wood," he said.

Page completed one of the first steps towards achieving his goal on Feb. 2. He was one of 13 people who finished the Bridging Employment Skills Training program at Aurora College in Fort Simpson.

The program is designed to offer life skills that can be used to secure and maintain employment or used to be a successful student, said Andrew Smith, the coordinating instructor.

Skills can be applied in both the student's personal and professional lives.

During the program, participants heard presentations on a number of different topics by people including Candy Brown, Marion Storm and Anne Marie McGuire. McGuire provided instruction on anger management, conflict resolution, workplace expectations and the impact of high risk behaviour like alcohol abuse in the workplace.

This is the first time the one month program has been offered in its original form. A modified version has been run in the past, said Barb Tsetso, an adult educator at the college.

The Bridging Employment Skills Training program was offered as part of a partnership with the Liidlii Kue First Nation and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Tsetso said.

Some students in the program are now going on to the construction trades access program, developmental studies or continuing with their management studies access program which all end on May 31. Tsetso also hopes to run a bookkeeping course this semester, but needs more students. She has two registered and space for eight.

Bernice Bonnetrouge is one of the students in the management studies access course. It's providing her with skills including bookkeeping, accounting and spreadsheet creation.

"I hope I get a good office job," she said.

The bridging employment skills training was a step towards that goal for Bonnetrouge.

Page also enjoyed the program. Topics included how to make a career plan, a better resume and learning about which skills suit which jobs, said Page.

"It was fun and I got lots of knowledge out of it," said Page.