Board created to oversee skills training
Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (May 14/01) - As part of its continuing effort to improve its training programs, Nunavut has created a board to oversee certification of skilled labour.
Composed of seven representatives from across the territory, the board will advise Education Minister Peter Kilabuk on trade regulation, trade initiatives and certification.
"We'd like to see some other programs other programs besides carpentry in Nunavut," said apprenticeship and occupations supervisor Noah Paniyuk.
A self-described "apprentice bureaucrat," Paniyuk knows the field first-hand. Nine years ago he completed a four-year electrical apprenticeship. He worked as a journeyman electrician for eight years before his moving to the Nunavut government.
"I know the benefits of getting that certificate," said Paniyuk. "It opens a lot of doors."
Though it will use the same standards for skill and knowledge in place across the country, the new board will look at ways to fine-tune programs for Nunavut.
For example, a second-year carpentry theory at Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit is 10 weeks instead of the eight it normally runs. The extra time compensates for the fact that the instruction is in English, the second language of some of the students.
There are more than 140 apprentices learning their trades in Nunavut right now, with new apprentices enrolling at the rate of about one per month, Paniyuk said.
On-the-job training comprises about 80 per cent of an apprenticeship. Most of the theoretical training is taken in southern jurisdictions.
