Kirsten Larsen
Northern News Services

NNSL (Dec o4/98) - As tourism gains momentum in the North, young adults are freshening up their skills to meet the public.

Melissa Buchanan was pregnant with her first child and still working on her Grade 12 diploma when she decided to take a training course to expand her job opportunities. She had worked just about every type of job in the service industry from waitressing to cooking. She had even tried out office work.

When she signed up for a three week course with Tourism Careers for Youth she developed a different attitude towards the work world and the public and was introduced to a variety of job options available to her.

Buchanan has been employed full-time at the Explorer Hotel working as a first contact with tourist and convention groups that book reservations at the hotel. She co-ordinates their accommodations before their arrival and makes sure they are comfortable during their stay.

"It's actually the first job where I don't dread going to work," said Buchanan. "I try to exceed. I try to do more than what they think they're going to get and make them happy. I do walks and check how they are doing or call and ask if they need anything."

Buchanan's experience with Tourism Careers for Youth has taught her skills she can bring to any avenue of work she chooses to pursue.

"When dealing with complaints, normally, I would get flustered and intimidated when somebody gets mad," said Buchanan. "Now I know that when they're mad, I am doing the best I can and I'm not going to take it personally."

The program offers training in a variety of different sectors from tour guiding to food and beverage serving. Each sector gives an overview of different jobs relating to the industry to give a trainee an idea of what they can expect if employed in the area.

The program also includes two weeks of paid work placement in a local business that relates to the trainee's choice of career. The work placement also benefits the employer because the person responsible for showing the trainee the ropes receives free training sessions on how to train new employees. The employer also receives a subsidy for the work placement trainee.

Tourism Careers for Youth, is a federal initiative operated in partnership with the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council. The Northern office is located in Yellowknife and trainers are available to conduct sessions in communities around the North. The next training session will be held in Yellowknife in the new year. The deadline for applications is Dec. 10 for the session running Jan. 11-29, 1999.