Nunavut Fisheries Training Consortium (NFTC) is a not-for-profit organization that was created in 2005 to provide training opportunities to Nunavut beneficiaries interested in pursuing a career in the fishing industry. NFTC provides training opportunities in all careers related to the fishing industry such as:
- Engineer
- Deckhand
- Bookkeeper
- Chief Engineer
- Factory Worker
- Factory Supervisor
- Marine Diesel Mechanic
- Quality Control Manager
- Fisheries Observer
- Bridge Officer
- Second Mate
- First Mate
- Captain
- Master
- Bosun
- Cook
If you are interested in training for one of these careers, NFTC will pay for all your expenses related to training: travel, accommodations, meals, and tuition; and students receive a training allowance.
Start dates for the courses vary. If you are interested in any of the training programs offered, apply now.
NFTC strives to provide the majority of the training courses in Nunavut, either in the community or in Iqaluit. Where facilities do not exist in Iqaluit, NFTC will make arrangements for students to take the course in southern Canada.
Working on fishing trawlers is not for everyone, but it can be a rewarding career. There are lots of jobs available in fishing with locally owned companies. Most fishermen/women will work for 3-6 weeks on a ship, then come home and go fishing again a couple of months later. Fishing can provide a balanced lifestyle. While you will work hard when you are on the ship, you will be paid for your efforts and can then return to your home community in between trips out on the boats.
Working in the inshore fishing industry can be equally rewarding. Generally, this means that you do not have to go out to sea for 3-6 weeks, but will work closer to home catching fish and then preparing them for processing. Working in this area of the fishing industry can be rewarding and also lead to sustainable employment.
Working in a fish processing plant can be a full-time sustainable career. There are many aspects to working in the plant, from handling the fish, to getting the fish ready for market, to supervising the work, as well as handling the financial administration of a fish plant. There are three processing plants in Nunavut, in Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet and Pangnirtung. This may be just the opportunity you are looking for.
What is it we aim to do?
The goal of Nunavut Fisheries and Marine Training Consortium is provide Nunavut Inuit with the skills and knowledge they require to become self-sustaining; to give them options for their life. Many skills and knowledge are transferrable to other sectors. As well, many students have never known the success of completing a course of any kind – when they complete our training, their self-esteem has risen tremendously and allows them to go to work and continue with their lives. There are also other spin-off results.
Once our students have the skills and knowledge required to work in the fishing industry, their lives can change dramatically as they take advantage of job opportunities in that industry. For instance, a first year employee working in the factory freezer of an offshore trawler can earn between $75,000 and $125,000 for six to seven months’ work. These earnings are then taken back into their home communities. This can make a significant difference for a family and a community. Families are able to become self-sustaining, not requiring income support, being able to purchase items such as snowmobiles. It is known that children of parents who are self-sustaining tend to stay in school longer and participate more fully. Health, both mental and physical health, improves so there is less drain on the public health system. The self-esteem of a person being able to support his family is increased exponentially. This can only increase the social, mental, physical and economic health of Individual Inuit, their families and the whole of Nunavut.
Our Training Philosophy
Our training philosophy is to ensure our training is certified by Transport Canada and to make the training experience as real as possible – to make it like the experience individuals will experience on board a vessel – with all the expectations and conditions they can expect to find aboard a vessel in real life. We want to prepare them as much as possible for the very unique experience of marine culture. What does this mean?
We train using industry standards!
Our classrooms emanate what would be found aboard a vessel – right down to the drawings and signage. We have been fortunate in that our industry partners have provided us with actual drawing, pictures of vessels, etc.
It means that we talk about the living conditions, the experiences they may encounter on a vessel.
It means that we hold our students accountable for their behavior. There is a zero tolerance policy with regard to alcohol and drug usage. If students are late for class, they will have to wait until a break or until lunch to get into the class (the boat has sailed). If our students are absent from class without a proper reason, they will have to leave. This policy carries through into the student accommodations where there are strict rules concerning, curfew, guests and living with other people. If a student causes damage to the student accommodations, his training allowance cheque is held until the damage has been paid in full.
Students sign a contract with us in which they agree to follow the rules, they understand how much the training does cost and they are made aware of the consequences of not following the rules. When a student does not follow the rules, we do not “kick them out of the class”, they have resigned because they did not follow their contract.
Our goal is to help students know what to expect on a vessel, that being late and absent is not an option on a vessel, and the basic life skills of living with complete strangers in a house setting. Together with the technical skills our students learn, these are skills that students can transfer to all of their lives.
