A new life with new skills
Job readiness grad encourages others to seek employment
Beth Brown
Northern News Services
Saturday, October 1, 2016
KUGLUKTUK/COPPERMINE
Suzanne Maniyogina used to think she would never work.
After receiving her diploma in office administration from Nunavut Arctic College, Suzanne Maniyogina, back right, poses with her family: Ian Evaglok, back left, with Azalea Evaglok, 2. Front, from left, are Tayten Maniyogina, 11, Jeremiah Maniyogina, 8, and Graysen Maniyogina, 5. - photo courtesy of Suzanne Maniyogina
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"When I started off with the job readiness program I had no self confidence," the Cambridge Bay woman said, referring to the Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KIA) initiative. "I thought I couldn't get a job, I couldn't work because I have kids. Doing the program and then going to school everyday and learning about myself showed me who I was and what I was capable of."
Still, she said the process was difficult.
"I had a lot of concerns and challenges," she said, noting she had been a stay-at-home mom for nine years before entering the program in February 2014. "You worry about finding a sitter and just everyday things with children. I did what I needed to do that day in order to go to school."
Maniyogina received her office administration diploma from Nunavut Arctic College this year. Now she works as a finance assistant at Kitikmeot Community Futures Inc. in Cambridge Bay, and spent September 12 to 16 at career fairs in Cambridge Bay, Gjoa Haven, Kugaaruk, Kugluktuk and Taloyoak encouraging others to get trained themselves.
Michelle Buchan, the KIA's manager of Inuit employment and training, said practical challenges like access to housing and daycare are impediments for Northerners seeking skills development.
"Logistics is a huge hurdle that generally people in the south don't have to deal with, in addition to making the life changing decision to go to school or to move away," Buchan said.
The KIA offers one program per year in each community, she said, noting that it is not enough, "but it's more than was happening before."
September's Statistics Canada report on the labour force in Nunavut noted that with 13,700 jobs, the employment rate from June to August was at 56.2 per cent, 2.5 per cent better than last summer.
Buchan said employment opportunities in northern communities can be limited, but they do exist, especially in construction, mining and scientific research.
"If we had local residents trained to take those positions, there would be a much higher number of people working," she said.
Nathan Nartok, 22, of Kugaaruk is one success story. Nartok completed a course in industrial safety, an introduction to underground mining, and a driller's helper training course through the KIA and is now working for Geotech-Ekutak at Hope Bay as a driller's helper.
In a profile for the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, Nartok praised the results of the training.
"My job enables me to provide food for my siblings, cousins, my kids and my parents," he stated. "I have also given up some bad habits, and have been living a healthy lifestyle for about seven months."
The KIA works with communities and companies to see what jobs are available in the region, and what training would support those positions. These might include classes in catering, underground mining or small engine repair, which was recently offered in Taloyoak.
Buchan said a small engine repair program might not result in a job in a small community, but the ability to repair snowmobiles and ATVs has value.
"If they can go out and hunt because they know how to fix their machine, they are providing for themselves," she said. "It might not be a full-time nine-to-five job, but people in the North are very creative. I see that as success."
