Growing post-secondary training, in Nunavik’s backyard

Heating and plumbing student Bobby Naqtairaluk, at right, sits in a heating systems class May 27. Naqtairaluk hopes to find work as a plumber once he graduates. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

The KSB’s Nunavimmi Pigiursavik centre in Inukjuak enrolled about 75 students in 2014-15, and hopes to see more in the fall. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

INUKJUAK — The sprawling industrial space in the back of Inukjuak’s vocational education centre almost looks like a construction site, filled with newly-fashioned sheds and partly-constructed apartments with their wiring and plumbing exposed.

But it’s not a construction site. It’s a living classroom.

The space is oddly quiet on a Wednesday morning, other than the sound of chalk moving across a blackboard.

Tucked away in a classroom, an instructor is teaching three students about heating systems. It’s one of the only classes still in session at Nunavimmi Pigiusavik this time of year, while the centre’s programming takes a break for the summertime.

Bobby Naqtairaluk, a heating and plumbing student from Inukjuak, is scribbling notes on how steam boilers work.

Naqtairaluk has been studying heating and plumbing for the last five years at Nunavimmi Pigiursavik, from — as he puts it — the convenience of his backyard.

“I like the hands-on work,” Naqtairaluk says. “I’m able to check out my own plumbing at home.”

Naqtairaluk hopes to find work as a plumber soon; he’s even willing to travel from community to community working on construction sites.

He shouldn’t have any trouble, his instructor chimes in — most of the major organizations in Nunavik are looking to hire tradespeople like him.

“There’s a lot of demand,” confirms Stéphane Bastien, the principal of Nunavimmi Pigiusavik, and himself a former heating and plumbing instructor at the centre.

With all the talk of barriers to post-secondary education in Nunavik, the Kativik School Board’s adult and vocational education programs — which operate in five Nunavik communities, including Inukjuak — offer an at-home solution for Nunavimmiut looking to upgrade their skills.

The programs, such as plumbing, are designed to meet the needs of the region. Trades students can even complete apprenticeships in the region.

And they provide a home-grown opportunity for local students to thrive, Bastien said.

“For some reason, trades schools are often seen as the dumping grounds for students who didn’t do well elsewhere, but this just isn’t true,” Bastien said. “We have strong, capable people.”

Bastien is the first to tell you that many tradespeople didn’t do well in high school, and may not have been ideal candidates for a university education.

In his years teaching and as principal at Nunavimmi Pigiursavik, he’s seen plenty of examples of students who may not have finished high school or had high marks, but showed the right motivation to succeed at the centre — and did just that.

“We had one student who had been in our English upgrading program for years, and never did well,” Bastien said. “So we put him in carpentry. He was a real machine.”

The student exceeded the program’s expectations and now is employed as a carpenter in his Hudson Bay community, Bastien said.

“Sometimes, we have to look at other factors,” he said. “And motivation is very important.”

The programs at Inukjuak’s campus — the largest in Nunavik — vary from the traditional trades, like plumbing and carpentry to computer support and desktop publishing, to Inuktitut translation and interpretation, and even professional cooking.

From its spot overlooking Hudson Bay, Inukjuak’s Nunavimmi Pigiursavik enrolled about 75 students in 2014-15, and hopes to count even more next fall.

That’s because the KSB’s department of adult education and vocational training has renewed its efforts to reach out to Nunavimmiut by promoting its existing programming and looking for new training opportunities.

Bastien admits that sometimes Nunavimmiut just aren’t aware of the courses offered in the region.

The department of Adult Education currently operates adult education centres in Kuujjuaq, Puvirnituq, Salluit, Inukjuak, Kuujjuaraapik and now offers a pre-college program in Kangiqsujuaq.

More and more, the KSB is also teaming up with regional organizations to develop joint training programs. Both of the region’s operating mines now work with the school board to offer programs such as heavy equipment operator training.

For students who don’t live in a community with a centre, the KSB’s distance education program can also connect with students from any part of the region.

You can read more about Nunavimmi Pingiursvik and Nunavik’s adult education and vocational training programming here.

The 2014-2015 Adult Education graduates at Nunavimmi Pigiursavik include, from left, Sean Ruptash, Annie Lydia Elijassiapik, Sandy Kooktook, Tommy S., Annanack, Adamie Bobby Etok, and Sammy Airo. Another graduate, Ista Cumberbatch, is not pictured. (PHOTO BY CAROLINE OWEETALUKTUK)