James Hrynyshyn
Northern News Services

Fort Smith (July 29/02) - Take 30 students with a wide variety of educational and cultural backgrounds, give them six weeks to complete a three-month course and hope for the best.

It won't take long to see if the combination pays off for Diavik Diamond Mines. The graduates of the company's mill processing program at Aurora College can expect to be working at Diavik's processing plant this year.

And no one associated with the first-of-its-kind program, offered at the Thebacha campus in Fort Smith, has any doubts about the qualification of the new hires.

"These guys exceeded our expectations," said Laurier Ouimet, manager of customized programs for the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, which supplied staff and resources for the program.

Twenty-five of 30 students -- drawn from Kitikmeot, Dogrib and South Slave communities -- made it through to last Sunday's graduation ceremony at Roaring Rapids Hall in Fort Smith.

It wasn't easy, for the students or the instructors. Students began the course with vastly different levels of education. Grade 9 was the official minimum qualification, but that was overlooked in the case of those with experience, said course co-ordinator Dwayne Degagne.

"You have to be a little flexible," added Warren Hall, one of two instructors.

For example, he said, mathematics was a weak point for many students.

But by teaming them up with those with better math skills, entire classes were able to make the grade.

Course graduate Richard Simon of Fort Resolution said he appreciated the emphasis on real-world equipment, rather than stale textbooks.

"I would have liked some more shop time ... and some more electrical," Simon said. "But the process was excellent."

Fort Smith Mayor Peter Martselos welcomed the first graduates as proof that corporations are finally beginning to appreciate that they have to work closely with communities to bring Northerners into their workforce.

"Diavik has really raised the bar of the minimum standards of what I expect," he said, challenging De Beers to follow suit when it begins to look for employees for the expected third diamond mine.

Along with Diavik, the course was supported by the federal and territorial governments, NAIT, the Chamber of Mines, the Dogrib Rae Band, the hamlet of Kugluktuk and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association.