Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Arviat (May 15/02) - Sometimes being the boss is not as great as it sounds.

There are disgruntled employees to deal with, conflicts to be resolved and a hot seat waiting if a job is not done properly.

It takes a lot of different skills to be the boss these days and 11 municipal foremen from across Nunavut have gathered in Arviat this month to master a number of them.

The group is completing a Foreman Training program under the supervision of instructor Malcolm Davidson of Edmonton, Alberta.

The program runs from May 7 to 16 at the Arviat Training Centre.

Arviat's senior administrative officer, Darren Flynn, says the program is a collaborative effort between the Nunavut Association of Municipal Administrators and the Department of Community Government and Transportation.

Noah Makayak of Rankin Inlet and Mike Gibbons of Arviat are among the 11 municipal foremen undertaking the extensive training program.

"The course includes components such as the management of human resources, leadership, practical control of supervisory skills, preventative maintenance training and an area that focuses on the delegation of workers under them," says Flynn.

"The course also includes first aid and conflict-resolution training."

Flynn says the foremen are all, more or less, at the same skill level.

He says this marks the first time a course like this has been offered in the Kivalliq since a group of foremen undertook Maintenance Management Operating System training in Arviat about four years ago.

"This is a good start to train the foremen in our various communities to be more effective managers of the employees underneath them," he says.

"At the same time, the training will also allow them to be a bit more strategic in the way they handle their operations. In should definitely go a long way towards enhancing their job performance in their various communities."