Competition set for April 26
Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Mar 16/01) - Yellowknife schools will be the scene of an upcoming Northern skills competition.
Skills Canada NT/Nunavut is currently seeking people interested in attending.
Both the NWT and Nunavut's departments of Education and Aurora College are funding Skills Canada to entice people to make a job in a trade or technology-related field their first choice.
Specifically, the money will be used to advertise the events and the organization, to promote Skills Canada in the North and to fly competitors to competitions, one in Yellowknife on April 26 and another in Fort Smith in May.
Cambridge Bay resident Kim Smith, representing Nunavut on the national board of Skills Canada, said the money would help address the huge shortage of trained workers while promoting trades careers among Nunavummiut.
"There's a big shortage of skilled tradespeople in North America," said Smith.
"We're trying to build capacity and squash the belief that trades are where people go when they're not smart enough to go to university. We're trying to promote it as a first choice for young Northerners," she said.
Smith said one tactic used by Skills Canada to raise their profile was to host upcoming skills competitions.
As well as showing members of other Nunavut communities, as well as other Canadians, the level of skill that exists in Nunavut, the competitions reward tradespeople for their hard work and training.
Smith, who hopes to send 16 residents of Nunavut to the games in Yellowknife and Fort Smith, said anyone interested in competing in the different categories and trades competitions must register by March 23. Winners of the territorials will go on to compete at the national competition. More information is available on the the Web site at www.skillscanada.com.
