CanNor funding helps Yukon communities address skills deficit

WHITEHORSE – Students across Yukon are learning new practical skills that will provide opportunities for them to find employment and make a difference in their community.

Yukon College has created a number of new courses unique to each community. The courses cover a range of skills from outdoor power equipment maintenance to trades exploration to cultural arts.

The programs are funded by the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) Northern Adult Basic Education (NABE) program announced earlier this year.

“This new funding has helped us address a desire in our communities to try different approaches to education and skills training,” said Dr. Karen Barnes, Yukon College president. “As a result, our community campus staff has been able to move very fast to implement these new training opportunities.”

Each Yukon College community campus worked with the local First Nation and municipality to identify skills needed by members of their community and then create a program to address those needs.

Joseph Allison is halfway through the 15-week Outdoor Power Equipment Maintenance and Repair program taking place at Kwanlin Dun First Nation and is keen to pursue a career in engine repair afterwards.

“It’s a lot of fun taking the engines apart and rebuilding them,” said Allison. “I’ve played around with engines before but didn’t understand everything about how they worked. Now I am able to handle trouble-shooting and fixing them myself.”

The nine students in the program are learning workplace safety, hand and power tool use, parts recognition, troubleshooting, and diagnosis and repair of two-stroke and four-stroke engines.

Instructor, Jeff Lister, is impressed with his class. “Their troubleshooting skills are much more advanced than I expected. On the  four-stroke Honda engines they were very quick to analyze and problem-solve, all the issues I give them,” said Lister.

The NABE programs are designed to provide students with basic essential practical skills as well as life stills support. Upon successful completion, students will be equipped to take on further vocational training or entry-level positions in their community.

Yukon College is currently offering NABE programs to over 50 students in six communities – KDFN, Pelly Crossing, Watson Lake, Carmacks, Dawson City and Mayo.

Programs will commence next semester in Carcross, Haines Junction, Old Crow and Ross River. The courses will continue for the next several years in all community campuses according to the training needs identified.

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For more information, contact:

Michael Vernon
Communications Coordinator
College Relations
Yukon College
867.668.8786
867.332.4722
mvernon@yukoncollege.yk.ca

Jacqueline Bedard
Director
College Relations
Yukon College
867.456.8619
jbedard@yukoncollege.yk.ca

BACKGROUNDER: Northern Adult Basic Education programs at Yukon College

Yukon College has NABE programs running in six communities in fall 2012. Next semester programs will commence in Carcross, Haines Junction, Old Crow and Ross River.

House of Learning, Kwanlin Dun First Nation (Whitehorse)
Outdoor Power Equipment Maintenance and Repair: This 15-week program is designed to provide students with training in workplace safety, hand and power tool use, parts recognition, troubleshooting, and diagnosis and repair through the maintenance and repair of outdoor power equipment (e.g. snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, outboard motorboats, and chainsaws).

Pelly Crossing   
Trades Exploration – Housing: In this 15-week program students will experience ‘hands-on’ skills that are required to effectively troubleshoot, maintain and repair existing housing units within their communities. The program will also introduce electrical, carpentry and oil burner trades.

Watson Lake
Skills for Employment – Mining: This 15-week program will help develop workplace essential skills through classroom instruction and field trips to numerous Yukon mines. The main goal is to equip students with the skills needed to work in the mining sector and gather the knowledge and basic experience required to be competent, local employees.

Carmacks
Essential Skills for Cultural Arts: This 15-week program will address each of the nine essential skills through the creation, instruction and promotion of cultural arts by using various mediums throughout, and by collectively creating a local cultural arts handbook.

Dawson City
Essential Skills for Multimedia: in this 19-week program students will acquire basic transferable skills required to function in the workplace by increasing computer proficiency, utilizing media communication software, understanding Canadian communication theories and historic relevance, and improving professional communication skills.

Mayo
GED upgrading: The goal of this 16-week program is to fill a ‘graduating void’ within the community of adult students at the secondary school level by supporting the delivery of a GED preparation course. This academic upgrading program will also develop the nine essential skills and increase overall literacy proficiency.

Northern Adult Basic Education Program

The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) is investing over $4.2 million over four years through the Northern Adult Basic Education Program (NABEP) to enhance adult basic education programming in the Yukon. The program will be delivered by Yukon College. 

Yukon College will work in partnership with relevant stakeholders in the Yukon including First Nation governments, the local French association, literacy service providers, and employers to introduce programming and build capacity that will significantly improve the literacy and employability skills of Yukoners.

With a strong emphasis on rural programming, each of the projects will uniquely respond to the social and economic realities of the region in which it takes place.