Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Apr 29/02) - Business courses in Nunavut are usually geared to the unemployed. But a new training program in Iqaluit gives managers and potential managers the chance to upgrade skills without leaving their jobs.

Saint Mary's University is offering 10 university-level courses over a 10-month period at the Navigator Inn.

Employees from Inuit groups, government and the private sector take the courses two days each months. Graduates will receive a diploma in advanced management.

The Kakivak Association worked out the details with Saint Mary's.

Kakivak is the business and training arm of the Baffin region's Qikiqtani Inuit Association.

Brian McLeod, Kakivak's president and chief executive officer, says the university focuses the courses on the needs of people in the region.

"They didn't just deliver an on the shelf thing from down south," says McLeod. "There's been so much interest right off the bat."

McLeod says he hopes to see the program expand to other communities. He also wants managers taking the program to form a peer support group.

"A lot of Inuit middle managers feel stranded in the government," he explains. "They don't have a mentor or anyone to talk to."

He adds many of Nunavut's most talented people are young and have a lot of technical expertise, but could use someone to bounce ideas off.

Lynn Kilabuk, manager of finance and administration at the Kakivak Association, is taking the program. She recently completed the human resources component of the program.

Kilabuk says she found listening to her peers describe how they handle different situations useful.

She says she's learning new approaches. But the courses also help reinforce what she's already doing.

"A lot of it you're already doing, but it helps to understand the theory," she says.

Kilabuk says the classes helps students see the bigger picture.

"Sometimes you get caught up in being the manager," she says. "You forget what it's like to be a regular employee."