DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE - The Deh Gah Got'ie Koe First Nation in Fort Providence is taking action to ensure their members have as much opportunity as possible to work on the Deh Cho Bridge project.

The band is tracking the employment opportunities related to the project to see what it can do to make band members eligible for the jobs, said Moe Barriere, economic development officer for the First Nation.

Six members of the Deh Gah Got'ie Koe First Nation took swift water rescue training so they could qualify for jobs on the Deh Cho Bridge. Course participants include, from left: Rob Pastoor (Alberta), Marcel Gargan, Joe Lacorne, Eddie Gargan, Lester Antoine, Colin Goyman (Alberta), Theo Matto, Phillip Bonnetrouge and instructor Ron Morrison. - photo courtesy of Phillip Bonnetrouge

"The band would like to see anyone who's not working, working on the bridge," he said.

Barriere said officials on the project expect between 30 and 40 people from the hamlet to work on the project but it's taking a while to reach that number. Many of the positions call for skilled labourers such as welders or carpenters. However, he said most band members with that level of training already have jobs elsewhere.

At least 16 band members are employed in positions related to the bridge project, said Barriere, who is keeping an updated list. Members of the band are continually asking how many local people are working on the project, he said.

To increase that number, the band recently sponsored a training session. From June 24 to 26, six band members were sent to Whitecourt, Alta., to take a Swift Water Rescue Technician Level One program.

The certification is required for people who want to work in the rescue boat.

Whenever work is underway on the bridge two people with the certification have to be in a boat on the site ready to rescue anyone who falls or has an accident in the water, said Barriere.

"We wanted to make our guys available for the positions," he said.

Eddie Gargan said he jumped at the chance to take the course because he knew it was required for work in the rescue boat.

"It's a pretty interesting course," said Gargan.

During the three-day course Gargan said he learned how to use ropes to rescue people in the water.

The training was done on a fast-flowing river and all the participants wore drysuits. All of the men from Fort Providence who took the course enjoyed it, he said.

Gargan said he thinks the bridge will provide lots of job opportunities for local people. He has already applied to work in the rescue boat.

"It will be nice for all the local guys to be working out there," said Gargan about the bridge project.

Atcon, the primary contractor on the project, and its subcontractors Rowe's Construction and Ruskin Construction Ltd. are committed to make every effort to provide employment to local residents, said Dorothy Innes, a spokesperson for Atcon.

During the three-year construction phase, the bridge is expected to provide an amount of work equivalent to the hours 60 people would work in one year, known as 60 person years, Innes said. The work will go to Northern residents, primarily aboriginal residents from Fort Providence, she said.

The project will include training, local business and joint venture opportunities, she said.

Employment numbers are expected to peak during the 2009 construction season.

"That's when there will be a lot of opportunity," said Innes.

This year the focus will be on the earthworks and four of the piers. In 2009, another four piers will be completed. Once the piers are in place, the structural steel girders will be placed on top followed by the pre-cast deck panels.

In 2010, the steel girders and deck panels will be installed on the other side of the bridge before the centre span is put in place, Innes said.