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NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Staff at a NWT-based communications company say Northerners are missing out on jobs because of a lack of training opportunities.

Bryan Brazeau completes a tower installation. -photo courtesy of Bryan Brazeau

“Basically, there is a lack of wireless communications specialists up here,” said Bryan Brazeau, a telecommunication technologists with Yellowknife-based Danmax Solutions, which does work around the NWT.

Brazeau and Chris Kyte, the company’s business development manager, said because few Northerners have telecommunications certification, the company must recruit workers from the south.

“There is not a huge market pool of skilled workers here in the North compared to a more southern region like Ontario or Quebec, for example,” Kyte said. “There is a very small population with the skill set required to work in the communications industry.”

There are currently no schools in the territory that offer telecommunications technology certification, Brazeau said.

“We’re not aware of any educational opportunities relating to electronics technology or wireless communications,” he said.

While they didn’t wish to reveal how many employees currently work for the company, they said the majority of the staff were recruited from the south.

Kyte said ideally, the company would like to hire Northern workers.

“We definitely want to have the business home-bound,” he said.

Brazeau said this is only possible if training programs are made available.

“I guess we would like to see more local educational opportunities for technical professions,” he said.

Companies typically pay technologists $25 an hour to start and technicians usually make $20, according to the Certified Technicians and Technologists Association of Manitoba.

Brazeau said because it is such a specialized field, there are opportunities for advancement and overtime.

Training usually takes about two years.

Kyte said until a program is available in the territory, Northerners are out of luck. He said he believes there needs to be more training programs that will enable Northerners to take advantage of opportunities that are now being filled by southerners.

“Yellowknife has a rich economy for business,” he said. “A lot of the business is going to southern citizens that are relocating.”

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