Jennifer Pritchett
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (Jul 22/98) - Daniel Kadlak does most of the cooking for his family, but is now getting the instruction he needs to work full-time doing what he enjoys most.

The Rankin Inlet resident is receiving on-the-job training as a cook at the Siniktarvik Hotel for the next three months through the Kivalliq Aboriginal Training Fund.

"I like cooking," he says. "I've always been interested in learning to cook for up to 100 people. I've always wondered how much ingredients to use."

And Kadlak, who started the paid apprenticeship July 1, won't be the only one taking advantage of the training.

Rob Hanke, manager of the hotel, says that the program has room for two students at a time. He is hoping to recruit another apprentice by September, when Kadlak is partway through his training.

All students to go through the program will be supervised by one of the hotel's cooks.

"We'll try to maintain two trainees in the kitchen," he says. "One person will be starting and the other will be starting halfway through."

Hanke expects the training to provide some needed staff for the region's kitchens.

"There's a definite need for it, and it's not just in the NWT," he says. "It's the same situation in Winnipeg -- you just can't get trained cooks."

There are no requirements for the training, just the initiative and design to work, he added.

At the end of the training period, each graduate of the program will receive a certificate, two knives, uniforms and a recipe book. "By the time they're done, they can go into any kitchen environment," said Hanke.

While there may be an opportunity for the cooks to get full-time work at the Siniktarvik Hotel, the business only provides the classroom for the training and doesn't necessarily provide jobs after the program is completed.

"We're not here to beef up our staff of qualified cooks," he says. "When they come here, they know it's a three-month training program."

Kadlak already knows where he will search for work in three months. He would like to cook at one of several mining camps in the region. He also looks forward to getting a full-time job to give his newborn son a stable life, an opportunity he's not sure he would have had without the training program.