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BCIT partners with First Nations

Author

Cheryl Petten, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Burnaby B.C.

Volume

22

Issue

7

Year

2004

Page 22

The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) is taking a new approach to provide technical training to the province's First Nations people, bringing both the training and the technology needed to use it out to the communities, and letting the communities call the shots.

The goal of the training program is to help Aboriginal communities reap economic benefits from their resources. What makes this program different is that the training takes place within the community and is designed around the specific goals of the community, explained John English, dean of BCIT's School of Construction and the Environment.

The training can also be tailored to the specific learning requirements or challenges of the students taking part, although all students taking part in the training will have to meet national standards for the trade they're being trained in.

"This is a big change for an institution like BCIT, because we've tended to say, 'Look, here's our program. Here's what it takes to get into it and it's up to you to get there.' And I think the tactic is fundamentally different in the sense that we're saying we'll actually take some responsibility here in helping you get there. And if that means that we have to advise you on some preparatory material or we have to adjust the way we teach to accommodate that, we will do that," English said.

As the program first gets off the ground, communities will be able to access training in carpentry, forestry and wood products, the three areas organizers believe will meet with the most success. In the future, English hopes the list of programs can be expanded to include other areas like piping and electrical.

What this new program does for BCIT is allow it to develop working relationships with First Nation communities, something that up until now hasn't happened much. What it does for First Nations is give them the trained workforce they need to allow them to keep more of the money being made through the exploitation of their resources within the community.

One truly unique feature of the training program is that not only does BCIT provide the participating communities with training for its members, but it also provides it with the infrastructure it needs to be able to put the newly?trained members to work.

"In the area of, let's take the forest area," English explained. "We're not only just teaching skills on saw milling, we're also delivering a piece of technology called a community kiln to the community as part of that capacity building. So that not only do they gain the skills, they also have the hardware on the ground to use."

In addition to the economic benefits they hope to realize once the training is complete and technology is in place, the communities will also reap benefits during the training program. A couple of training programs have already been run, including a carpentry program with the Seabird Island band and a forestry program at Boston Bar First Nation. During the carpentry program, rather than have students practise their new skills in the classroom, they went out and rebuilt one of the community's main buildings.