Kakivak revives carpentry training at Arctic College

DENISE RIDEOUT

The Baffin’s Kakivak Association is jumping in to help Inuit get more training in the building trades by sponsoring an upcoming program in carpentry.

The new program, slated to begin at Iqaluit’s Arctic College Nunatta campus on Jan. 22, is aimed at increasing the number of Inuit working in the carpentry field in the Baffin region.

Through an agreement with Human Resources Development Canada, a federal governmetn department, the Kakivak Association has enough money to offer the first and second levels of a carpentry apprenticeship course. The program is expected to cost several hundred thousand dollars.

Students won’t have to fork out much money from their own pockets because travel and living allowances, as well as books and tuition, will be paid for. The grant also covers the cost of instructors’ salaries and upkeep of the college’s carpentry shop.

What’s different about this training effort is that it’s for a longer term than previous Kakivak-sponsored programs. In past years, Kakivak could only sponsor courses on a year-to-year basis depending on how much money was available.

Now, Kakivak has guaranteed funding for at least two levels of the course, and that gives the program stability, said Kakivak ‘s CEO, Brian McLeod.

“It’s more satisfactory to Arctic College and to the students to be able to know where they’re headed on a long-term basis,” McLeod said.

Few Inuit have trades training

There’s been a considerable lack of training in carpentry, plumbing, and other trades for Inuit. McLeod said that means Inuit are missing out on opportunities to get into the work-force.

He said proof of that can be seen at just about any construction site in Nunavut.

“You go into a community and there’s an addition being built on a high school and there’s a bunch of guys from Quebec or Newfoundland there doing the work. And there’s a bunch of Inuit who are unemployed who would like to have those jobs,” McLeod said.

He said part of the problem is that it isn’t easy for Inuit to get into these training programs in the first place. Moreover, many Inuit have difficulty getting through trades entrance level exams, which stress mathematics and English skills.

In order to help students pass the exams, the program includes some tutoring. McLeod said they’re also looking at having future courses and exams done in Inuktitut.

Once they complete their training, students will likely have no trouble jobs in the territory, McLeod said.

Even though Nunavut’s building boom is slowing down now that much of the government infrastructure has been completed, he said there’s still lots of work for tradespeople in the housing market.

McLeod said if the Nunavut government goes ahead with its plan to build more social housing units, carpenters and other tradespeople will be in demand.

Right now, Kakivak only has plans to offer the first two levels of the carpentry course. But Dan Page, the community program coordinator at Arctic College, said they’d like to offer students third and fourth level carpentry courses in the future.