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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - For Chris Buchanan, it's the experience he can gain in the North that will most likely bring him back.

Buchanan, a first-year law student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, N.S., returned to Yellowknife last week and will spend the summer working with the Department of Justice's legal division.

Chris Buchanan, a first-year law student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, N.S., said returning to the North after school will provide him with work-experience he could not receive in the south. The government has a slew of incentives to try to entice post-secondary graduates back to the North, and while he thinks they do work, some people just want to leave for school. - NNSL file photo

"My friends in Halifax are jealous, because a lot of them will have a Starbucks job or something," he said.

"There is a huge incentive to come back to the North because there's a lot of experience to get here."

To Buchanan, it's the quicker climb up the ladder that is most appealing about potentially returning home after school.

He said the summer positions, and work he could find after graduating, are opportunities he likely wouldn't get down south.

"It's kind of like a fast-track exposure to experience and that's a huge incentive for law students to come back up here," he said.

Buchanan said for certain professions, like lawyers and pilots, the decision is a no-brainer.

Bhreagh Ingarfield, 17, from Nahanni Butte, is attending Grade 12 at Sir John Franklin high school in Yellowknife and starting to formulate her post-secondary plans.

"I'm hoping to go to a teacher's college and then teach again in Nahanni Butte one day," she said.

Ingarfield is the dream student for the Government of the Northwest Territories, which has devised a number of incentive-laced programs designed to entice students to come home after graduating from post-secondary school.

The task is substantial due to the fact that every year, the majority of Northern residents pursuing a post-secondary education must leave the NWT and head to southern institutions due to a lack of degree programs and apprenticeships offered north of 60.

In the 2007-08 fiscal year, for instance, 61 per cent of student financial assistance recipients attended a post-secondary school outside the territory.

The government offers both financial forgiveness and employment incentives as ways to get students to return.

For every year an NWT student spends in a territorial school, they are eligible to receive one semester of remissible loans. Following the student's post-secondary graduation, their loan can be forgiven at a rate of $1,000 - or $2,000 in non-tax based communities - for every three months they reside in the territory.

Buchanan sees this kind of financial forgiveness as the second most convincing reason to return.

"If I work a couple of years, I can pay off like $30,000 worth of loans," he said, explaining how he received an NWT Law Foundation scholarship that includes a return-of-service agreement.

Ingarfield said students now have so much debt when they come out of increasingly costly universities - compared to what her parents had - that anything helps.

"My sister is coming back in the fall actually to work to pay off her loans," she said.

To employ returning students, the government's human resources department hires up to 34 one-year term interns annually, has an extensive summer student program and affirmative action policy that gives preferential hiring to aboriginal residents first, and then lifelong Northerners.

The government also guarantees teaching, nursing and social worker employment or mentoring for Northerners returning with relevant degrees in those areas.

Tom Williams, associate deputy minister of human resources, said the program provides students returning in these "priority areas" with a one-year placement in one of the territory's health or education agencies. This provides students with job experience and can lead to their appointment into a permanent position.

Robert Hawkins, MLA for Yellowknife Centre, said the incentives are there, but suggested government look at the reasons why people come back. He suggested it isn't always about money.While he said the potential to have a loan written-off was a positive contributor to returning home, he'd like to see co-op programs developed and additional internship positions to give students more opportunities to gain valuable work-experience.

"I remember what it was like coming back. It was tough at first because you couldn't get a job because you didn't have any experience," he said.

"It's tough to start a career and compete for a job if you don't have experience."

Hawkins also said he wanted to see more summer student positions.

Nahendeh MLA Kevin Menicoche has been lobbying for just that. He told News/North last week he knew eight to 10 students in his riding who have been shut out of positions. He said he believed the policy was an important incentive to show students the government was serious about employing them.

In response to questions last session, human resources minister Bob McLeod said last year's summer student hires - 281 - were lower than the average of 315.

"We are hoping that we will get back to our average this year," McLeod said at the time.

Williams said it was still early to know how many students will be hired this year, adding departments have been late in coming forward for student hires due to budget constraints.

He said 143 summer students had been hired so far and the goal was to match last year's numbers.

The Northern graduate transition program was scrapped as part of recent budget reduction exercises. The program subsidized private employers up to $25,000 to hire a recent graduate.

Williams said the program had a low intake.

While the government does not keep track of its return on investment with post-secondary students - Shawn McCann, manager of public affairs with the department of education, culture and employment, said the government has no statistics on the number of students who return to the NWT after their post-secondary studies - Williams said he believed the government is getting a good return for the money it spends.

"The more opportunities and experiences we could provide our students, the better off we are as a public service," he said, adding today's students will be the territory's future workforce.

He said communities, federal and aboriginal governments also provide opportunities for students.

Buchanan said while the government can offer all the incentives in the world, some students just choose not to return.

"Some people won't come back naturally."

He said people who grew up in the North may just want to get out. Buchanan said families can move away while a student is gone to school and once they've graduated, there may not be a reason to go back.

"It's a natural drain that will never be plugged, if people don't want to come back," he said.

Buchanan also said the cost of living in the NWT is a detriment.

"I see my parents' bills and it's outrageous what they pay," he said.

With the housing market tightening, bills and rents increasing, he said the financial benefit of living in the North isn't really there any more.

Ingarfield said from speaking to classmates and many people her age, the majority are going to be leaving the North soon to pursue their studies down south. While some said they will consider returning North after school, only a few had their sights set on coming back for a career.

She said if there were more post-secondary options in the North, more residents - especially in smaller communities - would further their education and remain in the North.

"I really wish that we had schools in the North," she said.