Inuit students see new opportunity to prepare for public-service careers

Nunavut Sivuniksavut, the Ottawa-based college that serves Inuit youth, announced on June 27 the launch of a new program to help its graduates prepare for careers in Nunavut’s public service. (FILE PHOTO)

Nunavut Sivuniksavut, the Ottawa-based college that serves Inuit youth, is launching a new program to help its graduates prepare for careers in Nunavut’s public service.

“We want to see more Inuit in the public sector to ensure Inuit are leading Nunavut at all levels, and education and experience are the key to realizing that goal,” said Jesse Unaapik Mike, chair of the NS board of directors, in a news release on June 27.

The new Academic and Career Development Program will combine courses at Carleton University, leading to a Certificate in Nunavut Public Services Studies, with two work placements in federal government departments in Ottawa.

These departments include Statistics Canada, Employment & Social Development Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.

Each placement will involve work that relates directly to Inuit, Nunavut or the implementation of the Nunavut Agreement.

The program will be open to graduates of the second-year Advanced Inuit Studies program at NS.

The pilot phase of the new program, for which six students have been selected, will run from late August this year until December 2019, according to the news release.

“The goal is to help students get started on a university track while balancing it with practical experience,” said NS Coordinator Morley Hanson in the news release. “That’s what they’ll need to qualify for higher-level positions in the public service later on.”

A report issued by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. in September 2017 found that even though about 84 per cent of Nunavut’s population is Inuit, Inuit hold only 51 per cent of Nunavut-based jobs in the territorial and federal governments.

The new program is a collaboration among NS, the Makigiaqta Inuit Training Corporation, Carleton University, the federal government and the Government of Nunavut.

The GN will provide financial support to qualified students through the Financial Assistance for Nunavut Students (FANS) program, while Makigiaqta has provided funding to NS to coordinate the program and support the students.