By William Koblensky Varela | Nunavut News
Some businesses in the territory are trying to recruit local residents to their companies by creating training programs and meeting with students.
Calm Air said its development pipeline for Nunavummiut youth is beginning to bear fruit.
“We now have several apprentices working in our maintenance department to become aircraft maintenance engineers and several future pilots in our Atik Mason Flight Training Program that we have run the past two years in Rankin Inlet,” stated Gary Bell, president and CEO of Calm Air International.
The Atik Mason Flight Training Program has 12 students in its pilot school this year, while the Life In Flight Aircraft Maintenance Program has produced two Nunavummiut apprentices so far.
Now that Calm Air and Canadian North are both owned by Winnipeg-based Exchange Income Corporation, Bell said those training opportunities will be extended to the Qikiqtani and Kikmeot regions through Canadian North.
“For both Calm Air and Canadian North, it is not simply about finding more employees, it is about ensuring there are opportunities available for Nunavut Inuit and Nunavut residents,” Bell said.
Calm Air has been sending representatives to high schools and Nunavut Arctic College for several years to make students aware of these potential career paths.
More career options are coming from a familiar retailer in Nunavut, The North West Company, which owns grocery chains Northern and North Mart.
“This year, we’re launching a longer-term leadership development program designed specifically for existing employees, giving team members a structured path to advancement over time,” Brigitte Burgoyne, director of communications at The North West Company, told Nunavut News in an email.
Burgoyne said The North West Company is actively recruiting within communities to fill entry-level retail roles.
Nunavummiut in those retail roles have gone on to become supervisors and managers, Burgoyne said, and the company is proud of its local employment commitment.
Job fairs for positions in the mining industry are also touted as a way locals can find work, with Baffinland putting on information sessions four times per year in Arctic Bay, Clyde River, Iglulik, Pond Inlet, Sanirajak and Iqaluit.
Baffinland said it hires community recruiters to find future employees within communities and then assists them in drafting resumes in both English and Inuktitut.
“On site, we have Inuit Success Teams, Inuit HR advisors, and cultural advisors who provide direct support to Inuit employees and help strengthen relationships across the workforce,” said Peter Akman, head of communications at Baffinland.
Akman said recruiting Inuit employees is a top priority, and the company is focused on fostering a culturally-informed workplace.
The unemployment rate in Nunavut, recorded at 9.9 per cent in July, is consistently the highest in Canada, but it has declined significantly over the past 20 years, according to historical data from Statistics Canada.
However, the employment rate for Inuit in Nunavut is just under half that of non-Inuit people living in the territory, an analysis from the GN shows.
