Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk today about another file being actioned and being reported by the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. That has to do with the problems with the Apprenticeship Program, Mr. Speaker. We are well aware of how important this program is in terms of training our young people to become part of the skilled workforce that we desperately need. But when you see the difficulties the apprentices and the sponsoring employers have to go through, you wonder if the Minister gets this point, Mr. Speaker.
A constituent of mine enrolled in the plumbing/gasfitter apprenticeship program at the Thebacha Campus for January 2005. Two weeks before the start date, he was informed that the course was cancelled. His employer managed to get him into the same program at the Fairview Campus. He finished that and assumed that he would continue on with the second year this fall, and made his personal plans accordingly until, of course, ECE interrupts and says they will not approve such funding for him to go to Alberta because the Aurora College and Thebacha Campus will offer it, but not until next January and he will have to wait for that. Given his previous
experience, Mr. Speaker, this apprentice was not sure if he could rely on going to this program in January. In responding to my inquiries, the Minister tells me that he is doing everything he can to guarantee that second year is available, but he cannot guarantee that we can have these programs available for the first year.
Mr. Speaker, I wonder how the Minister could expect that the students, who are forced to start their Apprenticeship Program outside the NWT, should be easily made to come back to the North, Mr. Speaker. Deciding who takes a post-secondary education is a very important decision. It takes lots of pre-planning and organizing personal affairs. I believe it is a competitive field, and if we are going to succeed in this Apprenticeship Program, we have to make sure that the first year program is available in the NWT, so that students start at the NWT campus and finish at the NWT campus. If they can't offer the first year, then the Minister and his department should not interfere when they make their own personal plans accordingly. They should be assisted to finish the program where they started. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause