Training turns work into fulfilling career

Page S7

Paul Nyland decided he'd had enough. He'd had enough of working outside in the cold and the rain; working in jobs with no future and being the first to be laid off whenever business took a downturn.

He had had enough of being pushed around and treated with little respect on the construction sites where he worked in a variety of laboring jobs, a plain "Mr. Nobody".

He was 25 years old and had dropped out of school in Grade 10. Nyland wanted something better, but he knew that doors to good jobs were closed to him without the necessary training.

And that's when he returned to school.

In January, 1989 he contacted the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology, which offers 137 full-time certificate and diploma programs and 24 apprenticeship programs.

SIAST delivers programs through nine regional colleges and 58 rural learning centres, which carry programming via the Saskatchewan Communications Network.

Nyland enrolled in the Woodland Institute Learning Centre and got the prerequisites needed to get into the Instrumentation Engineering Technology Program at Palliser Institute.

September 1989, Nyland was studying in the program. He graduated in May, 1991 with a Diploma in Engineering Technology. Nyland didn't stop. In 1992 and 1993, he completed Level III and Level IV Apprenticeship training in the Industrial Instrumental Mechanic Program.

At this time, he also passed his Interprovincial examination for Journeyman qualification.

In November 1993, he was hired full-time by Imperial Oil Resources Limited in Boundary Lake, B.C. (east of Fort St. John) as an Instrument Mechanic.

These days, Nyland is the Instrument Department co-ordinator. His responsibilities include daily shop co-ordination, after hours troubleshooting, scheduling and preventive maintenance.

His journey on the education highway is continuing. He has completed the company's safety orientation training courses, attended a Fisher Valve Technician Course and recently completed training on a new corporate inventory system (SAR R/2).

Nyland has earned many awards along the way. He has learned that all things are possible with hard work and preparation.

But, best of all, he's learned that education has opened many doors to a brighter future for him.