NAIT celebrates

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The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), and particularly its Aboriginal population, celebrated the grand opening of a new Aboriginal student centre at the school's main campus in Edmonton Dec. 2.

The centre is just one part of a larger campaign called the Aboriginal Educational Success Initiative, chaired by Mel Benson, a recent winner of the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in the Business and Commerce category.

A generous donation of $1 million from EnCana Corporation, a multi-billion player in the oil and gas industry, helped make the student centre a reality. Half-a-million went to the centre; the other half-million is earmarked for mobile education units that will provide training programs in Aboriginal communities when and where needed.

The centre is a gathering place for Aboriginal students at NAIT that offers work session space, computer access, meeting areas and a place for smudging ceremonies. Jody Halfe is the co-president of the Aboriginal student's association. She is in the first year of a business administration program at NAIT and a player on the NAIT badminton team.

"I moved to Edmonton in January 2003, and before I started school I came to see Eva Stang [NAIT's Aboriginal liasion co-ordinator and manager of the centre], and so I knew about the centre through her," said Halfe. "So on my first day of school here, and I came to the centre, I was greeted with open arms from fellow students from back home, friends from the powwow trail and new students that would eventually become my friends. I knew that these people would be my support system and that we would get each other through our year, our term, through our program. So on behalf of the students, I would like to thank EnCana for their tremendous support to the centre and I'd like to thank everybody else who helped make it a reality."

Randy Eresman is a graduate of NAIT, leaving the school in 1980 with a diploma in Petroleum Engineering Technology tucked under his arm. He is now the executive vice-president and chief operating officer of EnCana and was at NAIT for the grand opening ceremonies and to present a first payment in what he described as an investment.

"We're here this morning to launch another innovative approach toward career development and meeting Alberta's growing demand for technical and trades skills," he said.

"Much is said about the growing severity of skills shortages in Alberta," said Eresman, adding that if there were a simple solution to the shortage problem, EnCana would have adopted it.

"Canada's Aboriginal community is the largest source of untapped manpower that, quite frankly, tends to get ignored in the ongoing debates on immigration strategies, skills development and technical and trades training." He said EnCana had recognized the potential of the Aboriginal community as a resource for manpower and stepped forward to support NAIT to more effectively tap into that manpower.

"I am here to congratulate NAIT and to support a good business case. This million dollar commitment is not charity, but an investment in Encana's interests, a stake in creating another Alberta advantage and a growing partnership with a quality institution that is integral to this province's continued prosperity."

Benson, said that the grand opening marked a special day for him personally, but also for the Aboriginal community.

"Participation in the mainstream economy; participation in the learning centre; participation in lifestyle; participation in the standard of living available to Canadians is critical to the survival of our people. Centres like NAIT that encourage and support our people in attaining the dreams, their dreams and their goals, is critical. Sometimes having a common meeting place like this is a haven that helps ... being greeted, feeling welcome, a home away from home-so important. Students that go through these doors today, in the past and in the future are a true legacy."

He thanked the members f the success initiative campaign for their efforts. The campaign team honorary chair is Colleen Klein, a Metis woman and the wife of Alberta Premier Ralph Klein.

"It's a pleasure to help open this wonderful resource for NAIT's Aboriginal students," said Colleen Klein. "This centre says a number of important things, about NAIT, and about its Aboriginal students. It recognizes the tremendous resources that lie within Alberta's Aboriginal population, and the role the Aboriginal community can play in filling the current demand for skilled workers. By including a space for an Elder, the centre also recognizes that both technical and traditional knowledge have a role to play in the lives of Aboriginal students. It acknowledges the unique perspectives and values of Aboriginal people and offers a place where those values can be recognized, encouraged, and celebrated."

She said she wanted to thank EnCana "who does have an Aboriginal heart."

Colleen Klein then presented a gift to the student centre-a needlepoint picture of a medicine wheel that she hand-stitched to express, she said, her admiration for NAIT and its staff, "but mostly for the students.

"Each stitch holds my best wishes for the students who use the centre, and for the Elders, faculty and staff who help to guide them through their journey here."

Mel Benson also thanked EnCana for providing 25 per cent of the $4 million the campaign is attempting to raise for program development, student awards and the mobile education units and student centre, both of which still looking for another half-million in funding.

"This is a major campaign," said Benson. "And clearly, EnCana has demonstrated ongoing commitment to the future of our Aboriginal community."

The day's celebration also included the unveiling of a painting by Fort McMurray artist Fred McDonald, commissioned by EnCana to commemorate the grand opening. It "is a depiction of how peoples from two cultures walk the same path towards a positive future thrugh education," said Eresman.

NAIT president Dr. Sam Shaw noted that Aboriginal communities make up the fastest growing segment of Canada's population.

"By 2015, the Aboriginal population will account for one in five young Albertans. At the same time, Alberta and Canada are facing a major skills shortage, with 40 per cent of our workforce expected to retire over the next 10 years. Alberta's economic growth depends upon our ability to educate people from all cultures and all backgrounds," Shaw said.