by Jeff Colbourne
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 09/98) - For the third straight year Nunavut Arctic College has recorded a significant increase in enrolment.

At the end of December the college had 776 full-time students and 709 part-time students in programs across Nunavut, an increase of 169 full-time and 126 part-time students from the same period in 1996.

"I'm very pleased, I'm ecstatic, I'm happy. When I look at numbers for students in management areas or those that would be entering at say an officer level of a government department, the numbers are very encouraging," said Ian Rose, director of policy and programs at the college.

The college projects an annual enrolment increase of approximately 15 per cent for the year ending June 1998.

Nunavut Arctic College is attributing the rise to a number of factors, including a strong demand for skilled workers by the emerging Nunavut government.

"The coming of Nunavut, the realization that Inuit employment is going to be a very important target figure of 50 per cent by 1999-2000. The target is 85 per cent down the road," said Rose.

"The opportunities are going to be there for Inuit who have an education and training."

The availability of programs in many Nunavut communities has also contributed to enrolment growth.

With the help of funding from the Nunavut Human Resource Development Strategy -- a total of $39 million has been set aside for training and education -- the college has been able to deliver 19 different programs in 15 of Nunavut's 26 communities.

Students enrolled in strategy-related programs include 269 full-time and 304 part-time students.

To keep up with training and education demands the college is expanding facilities at several campuses.

"That has been a challenge for us. "We've had to rent extra classroom space in several communities. The sheer volume has forced us to get extra space where we can find it. In some communities we're OK, in other communities we've had to go out and rent a classroom," said Rose.

"We've got things going in church halls, in hamlet offices, we've rented houses, wherever we can," he said, adding the real challenge for the college will be after 1999.