Coast Guard seeks Inuit students for new inshore rescue boat

This photo shows the kind of inshore rescue boat for which the Coast Guard plans to recruit eight Inuit students. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CCG)

CAMBRIDGE BAY—With a new rescue boat station planned for a location somewhere in the Canadian Arctic, the Coast Guard wants to recruit eight Inuit students who are ready to be trained for search-and-rescue operations on its new inshore rescue boat.

To kickstart the hiring process, the Coast Guard will hold five consultation and information sessions in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Nunavik, with a later teleconference for those who can’t attend scheduled sessions in Cambridge Bay, Inuvik, Kuujjuaq, Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet.

The goal of these sessions: to find students in college, university and other educational programs who are “team players, dependable, motivated and have previous experience or an interest in boating.”

They’ll also need to hold Standard First Aid and CPR certifications.

On the search-and-rescue boat, they will provide help to mariners in distress and work out of the new search-and-rescue boat station as part of a team of four people available 24-7.

The location of the boat station hasn’t been announced, but its funding flows from the federal government’s $175-million marine safety plan announced this past August in Cambridge Bay.

The maritime crew of the seasonal search-and-rescue boat will spend two weeks working 16 hours and day and then get two weeks off.

Successful candidates will have to show they’re in school and planning to return to school next year.

As an educational plus, they can count on training every summer and build on skills that could be useful in a career in the Coast Guard, said Coast Guard spokesperson Peter Garapick.

The sessions take place:

• Cambridge Bay, Oct. 10, 6:30 p.m., Canadian High Arctic Research Station;

• Inuvik, Oct. 12, 6:30 p.m., Midnight Sun complex;

• Kuujjuaq, Oct. 17, 6:30 p.m., Katittavik Town Hall;

• Iqaluit, Oct. 18, 6:30 p.m., Elders Qammaq; and,

• Rankin Inlet, Oct. 25. 8 p.m., Sinitarvik centre.

A teleconference is scheduled for Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. EST for those who can’t attend the sessions. If you’re interested, you can dial in 1-877-413-4788, conference ID 2831352.