Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Vancouver (June 03/02) - It's a long way between Cape Dorset and Vancouver for Nunavut carpentry apprentice Quppapik Qatsiya. The 32-year-old joined 23 Northern competitors for a Canadian Skills Competition in B.C. over the weekend.

"They will give me a set of plans and I will build a shed," said Qatsiya before the event. He finished his first year of a four-year carpentry apprenticeship course in Iqaluit. "I plan to finish all four years."

The sound of blow-dryers, hammers and power tools belonging to 416 competitors from all over Canada filled B.C. Place.

Competitors from Inuvik, Hay River, Fort Smith, Cape Dorset, Iqaluit and Yellowknife represented their territories, vying for gold, silver and bronze medals in welding, carpentry, culinary arts and other occupational fields.

Competitors got instructions and were judged in their fields against worker-students from other provinces and territories. The NWT-Nunavut team was one of the smallest in the competition. Some gold medalists will be eligible for the world skills competition in St. Gallen, Switzerland in June 2003.

Skills Canada NWT/NU promotes trades training. It's a national organization paid for by employers, labour groups and government. It's all about finding the right skilled person for the job.

Qatsiya shouldn't have trouble finding a job. Nunavut and the NWT suffer from a housing shortage and both territories are sinking dollars into a solution. That will mean construction jobs.

The NWT in particular is reeling with the effects of a trade labour shortage.

Qatsiya was travelling with five other people from Nunavut including coach Lloyd Kendall.

"That's all people talk about," said Kendall referring to the demand for tradespeople in the NWT.

"In Nunavut there is no labour shortage yet. But soon mining is going to take off," he added.