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Chief instructor Fred Slater, front row left, taught first aid to Maani Ulujuk high school students Wendy Kappi, Jaclyn Pissuk, Jennica Pissuk and Sarah Mazhero (nurse), front row from left, Stephanie Yarema, Annette Boucher, Abby Naukatsik, Marilyn Sandy, Shawnee Outchikat (Arctic College), Jennifer Berry (teacher) and Michael Aksadjuak, middle row from left, and Alan Everard (teacher), Stephen Yarema, Joseph Curley, JT Tatty, Joseph Hamilton, Vince Hickes and John Papak, back row from left, in Rankin Inlet earlier this month. Missing from photo are Tyrone Power and Kevin Bussey. - photo courtesy of Kevin Bussey

RANKIN INLET - A group of high school students in Rankin Inlet have a renewed interest in their education thanks to a work program being brought back into play.

Maani Ulujuk high school vice-principal and work program co-ordinator Kevin Bussey has been the driving force behind getting the work-experience program back up and running in Rankin.

The newly-reinstated program has also paid extra dividends to the community in general.

One of the prerequisites for a student being accepted into the work program is they have to hold their first aid certificate.

Bussey soon discovered the last person qualified to teach first aid had left Rankin about a year ago.

That led him to contact and recruit chief instructor Fred Salter to travel to Rankin to certify first aid instructors in the community.

Slater travelled to the Kivalliq region earlier this month and certified six instructors - five from Rankin Inlet and a nurse from Chesterfield Inlet.

The new instructors in Rankin are Bussey, Tyrone Power, Jennifer Berry, fire chief Alan Stebbing and Alan Everard.

Sarah Mazhero was certified from Chester, while two others still have components to finish to receive their accreditation.

The two programs were set up to benefit each other, with a component of obtaining a first aid instructor's certificate being to take part in a co-teach program.

Bussey said the new instructors teamed up with Slater to teach the students their first aid in order to become certified independent instructors.

"It's a Government of Nunavut requirement for the students to obtain their first aid certificate before they can be accepted into the work-experience program," said Bussey.

"The students accepted into the program are from Grade 9 to Grade 11 and will be going to numerous work sites in the community.

"We're very excited to have the work experience program back up and running in Rankin, and we expect to have the students placed in the workforce this week."

Bussey said reinstating the work experience program is a very positive development because the program benefits students who, for the most part, had lost interest in school for a number of different reasons.

He said many of the students enrolled in the work program had poor attendance at school or weren't attending at all prior to it becoming available.

"Many of these kids had come to the conclusion that school just wasn't relevant to them. And that's the whole purpose of the work-experience program; to try and make school more relevant to these students and provide them with on-the-job experience so they can explore various career opportunities.

"It's a case of so far, so good right now because the program is shaping up to be fairly successful its first time out."

Bussey said he has no intention of sitting back on his laurels and being satisfied with the work experience program.

He's hoping to take the process a step further next semester and have students involved in the Nunavut Early Apprenticeship Program (NEAT), which has also been dormant in Rankin for a number of years.

"NEAT allows students to start working under the supervision of a certified journey person as early as Grade 10," said Bussey.

"They'll actually have their first year of an apprenticeship served by the time they graduate from Grade 12, which is a one-year head start towards a career or vocation after graduation."

Students are also expected to keep up their academic grades while taking part in the work-experience program.

And, Bussey said, there's been a marked improvement in their performance since joining the program.

He said that's in stark contrast to the fact many of the students probably wouldn't even be attending school this year were it not for the work experience program being offered.

"The majority of the students are doing substantially better in their studies than they were this past year. I've also received some substantial feedback from parents who were a little frustrated this past year because they couldn't get their kids in school. This year, these same kids are going to school and telling their parents they're interested again.

"It's certainly been an impressive turnaround for a number of them."