Varied experience helps on road to management

Page S1

"I am not old by many people's standards, but I have gained wisdom, mostly by learning things the hard way!" says Stephan Pertschy, a 31-year old Inuvialuit of Edmonton, Alta. Pertschy believes furthering his education and the experiences he had as a student have made him wise beyond his years.

Education, knowledge and experience have helped to land Pertschy a position in a career development work experience program at Norterra Inc. in Edmonton. Norterra is a holding and management company with interests chiefly in the transportation and manufacturing sectors. The company is jointly owned by the Inuvialuit Development Corporation, representing the Western Arctic, and Nunasi Corporation, representing

Inuit of Nunavut.

Norterra has initiated a program to provide career development, employment, and training opportunities for its parent companies beneficial shareholders.

Pertschy is a beneficial shareholder and was employed in 1992 in one of Norterra's subsidiary companies, Northern Transportation Company Limited. There, Pertschy worked his summers in Hay River, N.W.T,. while completing his Bachelor of Commerce Degree at the University of Alberta. Following completion of his degree, Pertschy transferred to Norterra Inc., under its career development program, where he will gain a broad range of business experience.

At Norterra, Pertschy will divide his time over the next year between four of Norterra's subsidiaries: Grimshaw Trucking and Distributing Ltd., Valgo Ltd., SRI Homes Inc, and Northern Transportation Company Limited. Following this, he hopes to continue with his education in a graduate program in September, 1995.

"My long-term goal is to become an efficient and effective manager with Norterra," says Pertschy.

As someone who was once content to have barely finished high school, Pertschy feels he has come a long way. He speaks openly of his experiences as a student, and the opportunities and benefits an education can provide.

"My high school experience was not as pleasant as I would have liked because I was unsure what to do with my life. I had difficulty connecting what I was being taught to how it would benefit myself in the future," he explains. "I never knew if I could enroll in a higher level program because I never pushed myself to learn."

Shortly after finishing high school, he realized that to be a high school graduate with average grades meant enduring a lot of frustration. He discovered the only job opportunities available to him offered poor pay and working conditions for long hours.

"I grew tired of hearing others around me complain about their bad situation. I became tired of hearing myself tell others that they should have got an education. I finally decided to do something about it."

He enrolled in three upgrading courses to improve his high school average while keeping a full-time job. This period, he says, required careful time-management, and a firm commitment to learn. "The hardest part about changing my unfavorable situation was making the decision to improve myself, and then setting some short and long-term goals.