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Crowded campus
College enrolment up 25 per cent

Malcolm Gorrill
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Oct 27/00) - Students and staff at Inuvik's campus of Aurora College were supposed to settle into a brand new facility this fall.

Instead, the new campus is still some years off, and increased demand is making it hard to find room for everyone.

"We're pretty well full now in terms of classroom space," said campus director Miki O'Kane.

But O'Kane said staff are coping with the overcrowding.

"We always do. Certainly it'd be nice to have the new facility."

The new campus was originally slated to open in September, but was delayed. Construction is not set to begin until 2003.

"We'd like things to happen as soon as they can happen," O'Kane pointed out. "If it comes sooner, we'll be delighted."

She said there are about 125 students registered at the Inuvik campus, which is up about 25 per cent from last fall. O'Kane explained the main reason for the increase is renewed oil and gas exploration.

"There's a ton of activity. There's a lot of calls and consultation with industry that the college does through our Regional Training Committee," O'Kane said.

"The training committee has been meeting with the college to identify short and long-term programs. Right now there's a huge push for short-term programs to get people ready for work as soon as the ground freezes."

The director gave a few examples.

"We're offering a one-month kitchen helper program in November to help train people to be cooks in the exploration camps this winter."

Also starting next month, Aurora College is offering a one-month BEST course (Bridging Employability Skills Training). The course will run in Inuvik, Fort McPherson, Tsiigehtchic, Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk and Paulatuk and will focus on such areas as communication skills, teamwork and conflict resolution.

"What we want to do is work with communities to see what their training and education needs are," O'Kane explained. "Communities are interested in being involved in the longer term, professional jobs, as well."