First Nation owned college feeling economy’s crunch

Haisla Nation in Kitimat, B.C., owns a Registered Private College in partnership with Alcan Aluminum and Roger Leclerc is the director of Kitimat Valley Institute (KVI). "We do several areas of programs," said Leclerc, "Aboriginal Education and Training, Technical and Industry programs, consulting work, special programs for management, pulp and paper technician program," and KVI has run a power engineering program in the past, "and still have the curriculum for that program." KVI has a conference centre for rent. (Story 2009)
 

At KVI, "Presently we are providing a 10 month employment training initiative that provides them with a Dogwood (high school diploma) certificate," said  Leclerc. "We are delivering academic and life skills programs, employment readiness, and work experience placements into jobs." The demands of a changing economy are creating new business opportunities in the region, and KVI runs a 12-day Aboriginal BEST Program, delivered on behalf of the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, as run by Bruce Lacroix, "We've run it for the last two years," said  Leclerc. "It provides information and the ability to start a business," teaching the students business plans and marketing skills.
 
"With all these different industries coming into the region a local small business community will benefit," said Leclerc. KVI is using various delivery modes to put the education on-stream, "We deliver on-line programs and offer computer labs." Trades and equipment operation are offered, "KVI, Kitimaat Village (Haisla Nation's central community), and North West Community College are delivering a carpentry and housing maintenance program to produce residential housing workers."
 

Leclerc noted, "We struggle on delivering an essential job readiness program at KVI because it's a social program," and the education funds are hard to find. "We'll have 20 people register and 15 to 17 will complete it. This year we started with 10 and it's tough because we get no public funding. We've had industry and shareholders KVI's partners) fund the program in the past." The job readiness program delivers wider community benefits by building the capacity of the community for employment, "It has a September start date and we want to keep it alive. ALCAN is 110 percent behind what KVI is doing. We have anywhere between 500 and 1000 students and we operate 12 months a year." Leclerc said the ALCAN modernization program is moving ahead at a reduced pace in this 'down' economy, "and we are anticipating major expansions for industry, which works 12 months a year."

Meanwhile the school programs, industry related and dependent, have been reduced in scale to match the shrunken economic activity of a recession, "We've gone to job sharing ourselves, no layoffs, but KVI staff has been put on a three-day work week."