High-Tech Computer Institute joins the NAIT family

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The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology's Aboriginal High-Tech Computer Institute is developing programs to qualify Native people for careers in computers. This new institute is a private school within the auspices of NAIT and will hold programs in both Edmonton and Calgary beginning in January.

The curriculums are on the cutting edge and the first in Alberta, said NAIT Program Co-ordinator Martine Sabatier.

The certificate programs offered are Modern Office Specialist, PC and Network Support, Webmaster, and Computer Programmer Analyst. Programs run from five months to 10 months, depending on the course, and are priced between $8,370 and $17,640. Tuition includes books, materials, and a four-week practicum.

Sabatier said these tuition's seem expensive because they are prices quoted before government subsidy.

"It doesn't matter which educational institution you are, your costs are the same, around $14 to $15 an hour." She explained. "Where educational institutions get most of their money is from the government so they can keep their tuition's to the student low. We are not there yet. I think it is very important that people realize we are waiting for funding."

Sabatier has applied to government agencies for money and is hoping for a subsidized tuition price structure by January.

"Maybe I've done things backward, but that's the French in me," she laughed in regard to implementing the institute before funding was in place. "What I did was put advertisements out for this program because I knew there was a need, but I wanted to see if there was an interest. I guess you could say I've created a demand because our phones have been ringing off the hook."

Sabatier has been developing these programs for the past four months. She began by consulting 225 Aboriginal companies and organizations, then brought the proposed curriculums to the computer industry to ensure students would be well-trained to compete in this field.

"We have companies hiring people from all over the world because they can't find properly trained people here," Sabatier added. "There is something wrong with this picture."

Before becoming a teacher 10 years ago, Sabatier worked as a finance consultant with Native bands and communities and noticed they spent a lot of money hiring consultants for their computer and networking needs. Sabatier feels Native organizations would benefit by keeping the money in the community and using their own consultants.

But, how will the Aboriginal High-Tech Institute benefit the Native student differently than mainstream schools?

"There is not the support on the mainstream campuses for the Aboriginal," she explained. "But in this program the classes are smaller, a maximum of 20 students, and they will have the support from people of their own culture as well as teachers."

"In two-years I would like to see the program run completely by Aboriginal people" she added. Sabatier is hoping to nurture students with an aptitude for teaching to become future instructors at the institute.

"I was a student, then I became a teacher," Sabatier explained. "Someone saw something in me that I didn't see. . . I can see this in other people, so I have turned a few people into teachers and I would like to do this again."

Though the program's lengths are relatively short, Sabatier said the course load is heavy and will require a firm commitment from its' students.

"People have to be willing to make sacrifices. In the Computer Programmer Analyst program there will be six hours of classes and about four hours of homework, so they will have to sacrifice some of their social time," she said. "I tell people when they call to inquire that they had better feel ready for this, because once they get in, I'm not going to let them out," Sabatier laughed.

For more information on the programs, call Martine Sabatier at (403) 471-8329.