Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

KIVALLIQ (Aug 11/99) - Four Kivalliq students are among the group of five who headed south this week to begin their post-secondary education at Trent University in southern Ontario.

The five students, Ronald Anawak of Rankin Inlet, Kelly Owiijoot, Royden Aggark and Ronnie Suluk of Arviat and Salome Qaunaq of Arctic Bay, are getting their education as part of the Professionals-in-Training program sponsored by the Arviat-based Nunavut Environmental Ltd. and Kivalliq Partners in Development.

Office manager and program co-ordinator Jeff Tabvahtah of Nunavut Environmental Ltd. said the object of the program is to develop professional engineers, biologists and other scientists through a focused program, including formal education and professional job placements.

Tabvahtah said participants will attend university or other post-secondary institutions to develop their technical skills as part of the program's formal education goals. Summer work opportunities will be arranged in their area of interest to address the program's professional job placement goals.

"As far as the formal education phase of the program, it's my job to make it as easy as possible for our students to be away at school," says Tabvahtah. "As a company, we'll do everything we can to help ease their financial burden.

"Financing is one of, if not the biggest worry about being in school. We're going to do our best to try and take that worry off their minds so they can concentrate on their education and getting a degree."

Tabvahtah says during the students summer work placements, employers will receive qualified, committed and supervised professionals-in-training, while facilitating Inuit human resource development and the capacity building of Nunavut.

"It is also my job to look for summer employment for our students," says Tabvahtah.

"I'll be looking in both the public and private sectors for anybody in Nunavut who does environmental assessing or consulting.

"These areas will provide the students with practical work experience so that when they do graduate, they'll have education and practical work experience and will be able to go straight into the workforce."

Although Tabvahtah's company will stand to benefit from having future local professional engineers, biologists and other scientists, he's quick to point out there's no contract between Nunavut Environmental Ltd. and participating students, nor is there any pressure put on them to select certain fields of study.

"The decision of what they, ultimately, want to be upon graduation is completely up to the individual students," stresses Tabvahtah.

"The way the program is set up, the students will be with us year round and, we hope, upon graduation, they will decide to come work for our company.

"However, there is no contract. We think if we offer them this service and help them get a post-secondary degree, they will want to come and work with our company. It's sort of a you wash my back and I'll wash yours type of thing, but they are under no obligation of any kind."

Tabvahtah says the program will run annually, with post-secondary enrolment in the fall and winter.

"It's a great program which will see students in university for between three to five years.

We've applied for five-year funding and, hopefully, next year we'll have three times as many trainees as this year."