KIA wants more Inuit training in Nunavut’s Kitikmeot region

As mining companies step up activities in Nunavut’s Kitikmeot region, the Kitikmeot Inuit Association said, in a June 10 news release, that it will continue to focus its efforts on developing the “Inuit economy and managing resources for Inuit to benefit.”

But the KIA won’t pick up the tab for training programs that should be offered and paid for by public money, the news release said.

The KIA will protect “land claims money from the government’s misunderstanding of its directed use,” it stated.

“KIA will continue to encourage government and private sectors to provide training and advanced education for Inuit,” said Charlie Evalik, the KIA president, following the birthright organization’s board meeting in Kugaaruk on May 25 and 26.

The Government of Nunavut needs employees with many kinds of job skills, but there are not enough trained Inuit to fill all these jobs, the KIA news release said.

And Inuit in the Kitikmeot — where major metal and mineral mining projects are expected to start production within the next 10 years — also need improved business skills and more training to obtain those skills, it said.

So, the KIA plans to emphasize training as part of the its economic development activities, to encourage Inuit to get training and help increase the number of Inuit who are working.

The KIA also intends to promote more Inuit involvement in business — “everything from helping an Inuk to start a new business to helping an Inuit business grow bigger and stronger,” the news release said.

“The successful growth of the Kitikmeot economy depends entirely on Inuit training. As local and regional projects create new jobs and business opportunities, Inuit must be ready,” Evalik said.