NNSL (DEC 09/96) - More than $5.1 million will flow from Ottawa to some 20 projects ranging from stay-in school initiatives to professional development in Nunavut.

The arrangement is the first year of a four-year, almost $40-million plan to give Inuit opportunities for to upgrade their skills and prepare for a position in the Nunavut public service after division.

In anticipation of the funding, some of the programs have been completed, some are just under way and some are in the developmental stage, according to Bert Rose, human resources co-ordinator with the Nunavut Implementation Committee.

The programs were developed during two years of meetings with representatives of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the Nunavut Implementation Committee, Nunavut Implementation Training Committee and the federal and territorial governments.

Gaps in the training of Inuit were identified and programs were then developed to fill those needs, said Mark Cleveland, assistant deputy minister of culture with the territorial government.

They were then fine-tuned with the help of an analysis of the Nunavut labor force and Inuit employment trends in the territorial government.

These projects include: youth summer employment programs, adult basic skill programs, management studies, financial management program, pre-engineering technology, computer studies and Nunavut Arctic College counsellors.