Baker Lake (Feb 21/05) - Working as a tradesperson, 54-year-old Mike Illnik has spent time all over Canada.

While in the military, he worked as a mechanic on radar stations.

He was also the head of service at JSL Mechanical Installations Ltd. in Yellowknife.

And for the past seven years, he has been flying around Nunavut, inspecting buildings owned by NCC Properties Ltd.

From siding, to heating, to mechanical inspections, Illnik helps make sure everything is running smoothly.

Illnik, who was born in an iglu in Arviat and grew up in Churchill, Man., speaks English and Inuktitut and can understand Innuinaqtun.

Currently living in Iqaluit, he spends about half of his year flying around the territory."I travelled so much right across Canada that any things (photos) I had, they're gone," he says over a hot turkey sandwich at the Co-op restaurant in Baker Lake.

He and another serviceman were in Baker Lake for a few days last month to make additions to the Government of Nunavut building's heating and ventilation system.

"I have to find out what we need to look at," he says about part of his job as a maintenance manager for NCC.

He also has to solve problems. During this trip, the pair did not have a 36-inch drill bit needed to complete the work. So Illnik got somebody to make one.

Illnik and other service people have to visit each of the sites - located in 11 different communities - about twice a year.

He tries to source tradespeople from the communities he is in, but that is not always possible.

"I see that we have only a limited pool of resources out there," he says. "(With the creation of Nunavut) they're training people for the management programs. The trades are kind of getting left behind."

And while the desire to train for trades work is present in Nunavut's communities, a lack of training centres is a problem, he says.

In his seven years on the job, he says he has only been stuck once. Incidentally, that was in a previous stop in Baker Lake, which is known for its blizzard-like con ditions.