Rankin man on his way to becoming maintenance engineer
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Rankin Inlet (Jun 06/01) - Another Kivalliq resident is well on his way to a successful career.
Jamie Makpah of Rankin Inlet is in the second level of his four-year apprenticeship to become an aircraft maintenance engineer.
Makpah's journey began a few years ago when he signed up for an introduction to mining course.
"There was a part of a questionnaire which asked you to list your top 5 job preferences and I had a friend who was into helicopters and wanted me to get involved with the engineering side of things," says Makpah.
"I got lucky because Keewatin Air was looking for an apprentice at the time."
Makpah spends two months in class at Stevenson Aviation in Portage La Prairie, Man., and the rest of the year gaining on-the-job experience with Keewatin Air in Rankin.
He's grown to enjoy his job's diversity. "Every day is different, especially with medevacs.
"If we're working on a plane -- whether preventive maintenance or repairing something -- and a call comes in, we only have a maximum of 45 minutes to have that plane ready to go."
Makpah says the further into his program he gets, the more responsibility he has to shoulder. "You're on call so much, you're tied to your pager or phone.
"My first year I really missed being able to go out camping on the land, but, when I look at the big picture, I'm getting a great career, so it all balances out."
Makpah got off to a solid start in his program, finishing his level 1 training with an 88.9 per cent average.
He says good communication skills are also an important part of the job, especially when it comes to dealing with the people who fly the planes.
"The pilots really know the planes they fly.
"They can help you do your job better when you're able to communicate effectively with them."
Serving an apprenticeship is a lot of hard work, but Makpah says people do try and help along the way.
"When you're born and raised in the North, it's a little bit scary when you first go to school down south," he says.
"It's a different world you have to adjust to and I found the biggest thing is getting to know your classmates. Once they get to know you, they'll help you out a lot."
