The 鈥渘ext generation鈥� of aspiring NWT sailors recently received some valuable training in North Vancouver.
Capt. Dennis Kean, program coordinator at the Western Arctic Marine Training Centre (WAMTC), and one of the organizers of the excursion, is hopeful it will help the group take their studies to the next level.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 to be seen now when I get them back in the classroom here [in Hay River],鈥� he said with a laugh when asked how the training will benefit students.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e the next generation. I鈥檓 finished with [sailing] myself. I spent a lifetime at sea. All I can do now is pass on the knowledge I gained, and I hire instructors to do the same thing, to share their knowledge and experience with the next generation.鈥�
There were eight students on the three-week trip to North Vancouver, all of whom are enrolled in the college鈥檚 Bridge Watch Rating North course. Several members of the group had never been outside the NWT before.
The trip itself saw the students undertake their marine emergency duties (MED) training, a component of the larger course. The MED training was broken into 鈥渢hree parts,鈥� according to Kean.
鈥淢arine advanced firefighting is the first part,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey do that at the Justice Institute of British Columbia [in Maple Ridge].
鈥淭he second part is basic safety, and the third part is the lifesaving appliances and rescue boats [component]. Those two parts are done at the British Columbia Institute of Technology in North Vancouver.鈥�
Upon completing the training regimen, the students all received three Transport Canada-issued certificates.
When the trip concluded, they headed back to the NWT for a hard-earned week off.
They鈥檙e set to return to the classroom on March 16.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to be plunging into the next six weeks [of the Bridge Watch Rating North program],鈥� Kean said. 鈥淭here will be some simulator training. We鈥檙e trying to line up an instructor to do the helmsman [training]. We鈥檙e just going to continue to expand their knowledge base of everything ship-related 鈥� the bits and pieces of a ship, from the forward back through to the stern.
鈥淭hey have to know everything about the anchoring, the mooring, the maintenance upkeep and being part of the bridge management team, as well as lookout and wheelman, if required.鈥�
There will be many employment possibilities for the eight students who visited North Vancouver once their course is done 鈥� due in large part to the ever-present need for trained sailors in Canada.
鈥淭he Canadian Coast Guard is looking for every one of them, to begin with,鈥� Kean said when asked about employment opportunities. Marine Transportation [Services] here in the Northwest Territories needs people. B.C. Ferries is looking for people. Upper Lakes Shipping Company 鈥� all the shipping companies 鈥� may have a shortage of certified seamen. It鈥檚 critical for shipping companies to be able to find and keep certified people.
鈥淓ither they have the required number of people on board [these vessels], or they can鈥檛 go,鈥� he added. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where [WAMTC is] fitting in now in the industry: talking to the industry and offering our people to them.
鈥淭here鈥檚 quite a bit of excitement in that.鈥�
