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Keeping students working in the North

Terrence McEachern
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, August 11, 2010

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Despite a decrease in the number of students hired by the GNWT this summer compared to last, the government still hopes to encourage students to remain and work in the North after they graduate.

NNSL photo/graphic

Cara Goodwin is taking a year off to go to Australia for nine months this fall before applying to the University of Ottawa to study journalism in 2011. -

"We want to build a Northern workforce, and we want to provide opportunities for students to get some experience within the government. As a prospective employer we would encourage these students to come back and work for us," said Tom Williams, deputy minister of the Department of Human Resources.

Williams said that as of July 30, the GNWT had hired 259 students, whereas 345 students were hired in 2009.

He blamed the decrease on budget cuts within individual departments. He said this decrease did not affect the GNWT's two summer student programs, however. The Progressive Experience Program has $205,000 allocated to give students with training in certain fields such as engineering - an opportunity to gain experience. The Relevant Experience Program, meanwhile, has $200,000 set aside to give students work experience, especially those studying nursing and social services.

Kalina Newmark is one student that found employment with the GNWT this Summer. Newmark, 21, is working in the Precambrian Building in downtown Yellowknife with the department of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations.

Newmark, from Tuktoyaktuk, attended high school in Penticton, B.C., and graduated in 2007. In the fall of that year, she began undergraduate studies in Native American studies and anthropology at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. This year, she's finishing her degree with her sights set on law school. "My top three choices are Stanford, Columbia and Harvard," she said.

After her law degree, she wants to return to the North and work, but not right away. "I want a different lifestyle right now as a younger person, but my family's from here and my people are from here, and I know that's where I belong."

Tyler Rentmeister is also working for the GNWT in the School for Community Government. Rentmeister is born and raised in Yellowknife, but only attended Sir John Franklin High School for one year in 2001. He completed the rest of his high school education at Notre Dame College in Wilcox, Sask., to play hockey.

The 24-year-old finance student at the University of Calgary is entering the final year of his degree. He said he couldn't say for certain whether he would come back to Yellowknife after his degree, because of greater career opportunities in Calgary.

Not everyone is working for the GNWT this Summer. Cara Goodwin graduated this year from Sir John Franklin High School and is currently working at Mark's Work Wearhouse full-time. She said growing up in a military family has caused her to relocate repeatedly.

Originally from Cold Lake, Alta., Goodwin lived in Oromocto, N.B., before coming to Yellowknife three years ago. At first, there was a period of adjustment at her new school. But she quickly found her way into Sir John Franklin's drama program and appeared in several plays, including the Vagina Monologues, Charlotte's Web and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

"If it wasn't for the theatre programs, I don't think I would have had half as much fun," she said.

The 18-year-old is planning on attending the University of Ottawa to study journalism and French.

Goodwin said she doubts she would return to Yellowknife after finishing her degree because her family is planning on moving elsewhere. But her immediate concerns involve her plan to go to Australia at the end of September for nine months to travel, work and visit her aunt living there.

"I've seen all of Canada from being a military child, so I want to see somewhere else," she said. "I want that real-world experience."

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