Malcolm Gorrill
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 10/00) - "This will allow us to maximize the resources on both sides."

That's how Gordon Van Tighem, executive director of NWT Community Mobilization, sums up the agreement reached recently between his organization and Aurora College.

"We offer programs in the communities. What the college does is it offers programs centrally," Van Tighem explained, "so if we're offering a course in a community and we find somebody with the potential to be involved in some of the higher level courses the college offers, then we can do recommendations and let them know what's available."

Van Tighem said, "It's just an overall ability to co-operate and make more programs available to more people in more locations, and to make sure we don't both do the same thing only a couple of hundred miles apart."

Aurora College president Maurice Evans agreed there isn't "any room" for duplication.

"We're always thinking of partners and groups that we can work with to try to make sure that Northerners are served as best as possible," Evans explained.

"This is just one area where we're looking to co-operate with a group that has a niche. They work closely on safety training and job readiness.

"We do that also. We don't necessarily do the job readiness side to the extent they have."

NWT Community Mobilization is fairly well connected, Evans said.

"They do a good job in helping communities, at times, figure out what industry needs in the short term. They very much play a catalyst role in communities," he said.

"That's not a role we generally play."

Van Tighem said that before their agreement the two organizations talked with each other occasionally.

"Now we talk with pretty good regularity. They are invited to our meetings, we are invited to their meetings, type of thing, so it's a true partnership," Van Tighem said.

"We're working together to develop a 'train the trainer' initiative. What that will do is to allow people in the smaller communities that have the skills and the accreditation in certain safety training areas, to upgrade themselves so they can be trainers.

"And then we don't have to fly instructors all over the North, they'll actually be in place," Van Tighem said.

"Already there's benefits."