PAULATUK - Herb Nakimayak would rather be too busy than not busy enough.

Herb Nakimayak, 35, is the first person in Paulatuk to complete NAIT's Oil and Gas Production Operator Level 1 Course through Sunchild distance learning at Angik School. - photo courtesy of Kim Lyon

That explains why, last fall, he signed up for an oil and gas industry distance education course while he was already working as superintendent of NWT Power Corporation's Paulatuk plant, in the process of completing a business degree from Mount Royal University and trying to breathe new life into the outfitting business he inherited from his father.

"It's been a busy year, and I really like that," he said. "It's a good mixture, I think."

After months of working during the day and doing coursework at home in the evenings, Nakimayak received his certification in December in the Oil and Gas Production Operator Level 1 course, something he says will help "keep his options open" in the future, especially if more exploration takes off in the region with a push from the Mackenzie Gas pipeline project.

"I felt like a kid again," visiting the school to start the course, he said. "To me, learning is always good."

Coming back to his hometown with a fresh perspective after years of working in exploration and as a park ranger in many of the "mountain parks" across Nunavut, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, Nakimayak said distance education and the Sunchild e-learning facilitator, Kim Lyon, can fill what he sees as a gap in learning in the community.

"It's important for people here to have this. There's a big education gap here in Paulatuk and Kim's definitely come in and closed that gap a little," he said. "That's what we've been missing here, is a link between the community and the school."

Nakimayak went to high school in Inuvik and Yellowknife, where he had to re-do half a year of Grade 9 before moving on to Grade 10. It was "a kick in the teeth," he said, but he didn't get discouraged. Now, he hopes his experience will encourage others.

"You don't have to be young to go to school - you just need the gumption to get up and go," he said. "We need to have people ready to go to work and this would prepare a lot of people in the community, to have access to (these distance ed. courses)."

With some new certification under his belt in case it comes in handy later, Nakimayak is now focusing on balancing his work at the power plant with his new business venture, adventure tours at Bekere Lake Lodge.

"We used to do sport hunting but now we're doing a transition to eco-tourism and adventure tourism," he said. "I look at the lodge as my main focus and my playground ... I enjoy it so much that it doesn't even seem like work."

Even with all that on his plate, Nakimayak is thinking about signing up for the Level 2 Oil and Gas Production Operator course.

"I have Internet access at my lodge too, so if I were to take this course again I could access it from my lodge - 135 kms away from Paulatuk," he said.