SIIT gets computers

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The Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies has increased the number of computers available to its students, thanks to a donation from Imperial Tobacco.

The Montreal-based tobacco company has donated 218 IBM Pentium 233 computers to the institute. The donation will allow SIIT to provide hands-on training to students in information technology and computer technician diplomas, as well as in adult education courses.

The three-year-old computers were previously leased for use by Imperial. When the lease came up for renewal, the company chose to buy the computers, service them, and donate them to Aboriginal post-secondary institutes.

About 600 computers were donated in total, with the equipment going to SIIT, The First Nations Technical Institute located on Tyendinaga-Mohawk Territory in Ontario, and the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology in Merritt, B.C. The three institutes were selected to receive the computers by the Assembly of First Nations.

"We are headed for serious shortages of skilled workers in all sectors of the economy and business will be looking to the Aboriginal Native population to fill the gap," said Paul Forgues, manager of community relations for Imperial. "That equates to a lot of long-overdue opportunities for well-paying careers for Native people. It's therefore crucial that they have the right tools to take full advantage of those opportunities."

Web site for college

Getting information about Parkland Regional College is now easier than ever, thanks to the launch of the school's new Web site.

Visitors to the site can access information about programs and services offered by Parkland Regional College. The site contains information about basic education, technical training, university courses, business and community training, and computer training, as well as facts about literacy services and career and student support services.

The site also has a page of links to other education and career-related sites.

The college is also using the new site to offer a number of new opportunities for on-line training, including Internet and computer courses, and business management courses.

The Parkland Regional College site is located at www.parklandcollege.sk.ca.