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HAY RIVER - Sharon Dragon's job is to help other people find work.

Dragon is a career development officer with the GNWT's Hay River Career Centre.

Sharon Dragon is a career development officer at the Hay River Career Centre. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

She enjoys the work, particularly helping people successfully find jobs and train for new careers.

"That, of course, gives you a feeling of satisfaction that what you're doing is for the betterment of people," she said.

In a small community like Hay River she often knows the people she is helping and sees them working at new jobs after she has helped them.

The Hay River Career Centre, one of six such centres around the NWT, offers a large variety of programs and services to help people with their careers.

"It varies depending on the need," Dragon said.

Among the services the centre provides are career and education counselling, education planning, career action plans, information on student financial assistance and much more.

The centre also provides a variety of workshops on such things as resume writing, job interview skills and personality assessment.

Dragon said a common problem facing people looking for a new job is preparing a resume.

Along with offering workshops on resume writing, Dragon or one of the centre's two other career development officers help individuals write resumes on computers.

Another workshop called 'Smart Options' helps people recognize the skills that they have, she said.

"It shows everybody that they do have gifts to offer," she said.

The career centre also provides numerous programs, including on-the-job training, income support, a daycare subsidy, self-employment options, apprenticeships and much more.

"Our apprenticeship program here in Hay River is excellent," Dragon said.

There are 83 registered apprentices in the area this year, according to Dragon.

She said a common challenge facing people looking for work is the job interview.

"The interview is always a big issue for everyone," she said, adding that most people are nervous before and during such an interview.

The Hay River Career Centre has offered mock interviews to help people get ready to face a prospective employer for the first time.

Dragon has been working at the Hay River Career Centre – a division of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment – for 10 years. Before that she worked as an employment counsellor for 10 years with the Canada Employment Centre – as it was then known – until the federal service was transferred to the territorial government.

Dragon is a certified career development professional with the Career Development Association of Alberta.

Over the 20 years she has worked in the field, Dragon can recall one major change in the career goals of many people, which happened about four or five years ago: they wanted to work in the diamond mines and many still do, she said.

The Hay River Career Centre also services Fort Resolution, the Hay River Reserve and Enterprise.

The five other career centres in the NWT are in Yellowknife, Fort Smith, Inuvik, Norman Wells and Fort Simpson.