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Diamond graduation Driller's program produces 43 graduates in four intakes
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Published Tuesday, August 6, 2013
ARVIAT
Twelve students earned their certificates during a graduation ceremony for the Arviat Diamond Driller's Training Program in that community this past month.
Jamie Aulatjut, Romeo Ikakhik, Terrence King, Andy Ulayok, Evano Aggark Jr., Brian Arualak Sr., Norman Kirkwa, Robert Gibbons Jr., Gabriel Anowtalik, Danny Illungiayok and Jonah Sewoee, from left, graduated from the fourth Arviat Diamond Driller's Training Program this past month. Missing from the photo is Jonak Kinak. - photo courtesy Robin Hood
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The graduation marked the successful completion of the program's fourth intake.
The graduating group was comprised of all male students from Arviat, with the 12 graduates bringing the total number to complete the diamond driller's program up to 43.
The program has seen all male students from Arviat in its first and fourth intakes, while both the second and third intake groups had male and female students from various Kivalliq communities complete the training.
Arviat community economic development officer Keith Collier said it wasn't a conscious decision to have all male students from Arviat in the fourth-intake group.
He said the best candidates from among the submitted applications were selected, and it just happened to turn out that way.
"We take applications from across the Kivalliq region, but the big roadblock for us is the fact there's no housing available in Arviat for outside students," said Collier. "If a potential student doesn't have family or friends they can stay with in Arviat, they're pretty much out of luck because we don't have any accommodations for them."
Collier said about 60 per cent of the program's first 31 graduates found employment of varying lengths of time.
He said the seasonal nature of the work, along with the drop in exploration for the mining industry in general, have kept the numbers lower than desired.
"Agnico Eagle is scaling back its exploration this year and the next at Meliadine, and that's going to hurt us a bit," he said. "The 60 per cent isn't as high as we'd like, but it's still better than what we saw in the past."
Collier said he is hoping the mining industry will pick back up again during the next few years, which would result in a higher employment rate.
"But it's not just us, as even our training partner, Northern College in Kirkland Lake, is seeing employment numbers for its graduates drop by about 20 per cent because of the state of the mining industry right now."
The major funding sources for the Arviat Diamond Driller's Training Program are Agnico Eagle and the Kivalliq Mine Training Society, while Kivalliq Partners in Development continue to supply student support.
Collier said the funding partners continue to view the program as a successful one.
He said an advisory group, which is made up of representatives from government, funding agencies, the mining industry and the Hamlet of Arviat, meets once a year to go over the program in-depth.
"When we get together, we talk not only about the drill training, but, also, what other training may be necessary for the mining industry," Collier said. "We were originally doing two of these courses a year, but now, because the exploration industry has slowed down, we decided once a year is plenty.
"In fact, now that we have 43 graduates, it may come down to only being held once every 18 months or once every two years because there's only so many graduates the industry can absorb at a time."
Collier said none of the partners want to be training people faster than they can be employed.
He said a considerable amount of time is being spent looking at other possible training opportunities, such as a welder's helper coursing, which is scheduled to be running by the fall.
"It's still in the design and set-up stages right now," he said. "We do intend to have a fifth intake of the diamond driller's program, and it's tentatively set for the next fiscal year around May or June of 2014.
"We'll be accepting applications from across the Kivalliq region for that one, as well."
Collier said the group is guardedly optimistic about other training opportunities which may present themselves during the next few years.
He said the welder's helper is next on the agenda and they'll move forward from there.
"Basically, the mining companies tell us what they need and we see where we can help them fill those needs," Collier said. "That approach has served us well to date, and it's the way we intend to proceed in the future."
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