The Western Arctic Marine Training Centre (WAMTC) closed out 2024 by awarding nine hard-working graduates with certificates.  

The graduates, all but one of whom hails from the NWT, completed the centre's 16-week bridge watch rating program. They are the second group of students to graduate from the new program, and like their predecessors, can now look forward to potentially lucrative positions in the marine industry.

"They are hard workers," said Cindy Drover-Davidson, WAMTC's training and project manager. "They are great learners and they were a really tight group.

"They worked really hard at their schoolwork. They kept the place clean. They just were a really good group of people."

The graduation ceremony took place at WAMTC's Hay River campus on Dec. 18. The nine students to take the stage were Amanda Andre-Niditchie, Jacob Boucher, Wynner Joshua Ramirez, Kyzer Hehn, Braiden Lafferty, Indigo Mielke, brothers Raymond and Seth Norn, and Quinn St. John. Three graduates also received special honours in addition to their certificates. Fort Resolution's Seth Norn received the captain's award, while Hay River's St. John received the first mate's award. The heroism award went to Hay River's Hehn, who helped a woman who was choking when the class spent three weeks in Vancouver for specialized training. 

Lafferty delivered the valedictory speech. 

The ceremony was attended by Premier R.J. Simpson, who gave an address during the proceedings, as well as several other politicians. There were about 65 friends and family members in attendance showing their support, and more than 1,000 people watching the ceremony on WAMTC's live Facebook stream.

"[The ceremony] was beautiful," Drover-Davidson said. "It was pretty packed."

All nine graduates are now qualified to work as deckhands, according Drover-Davidson, and could wind up on "a Coast Guard ship, a container ship, a cruise ship, a harbour ferry, pretty much any type of marine vessel in Canada."

Entry-level salaries in the North typically fall "around $80,000 per year."

"It's an entry-level position," she said. "They can work as a deckhand and then work their way up through."

While not all graduates have received positions on boats just yet, their prospects look good. There have been "a lot of people inquiring about them already," according to Drover-Davidson. 

"Some of them had jobs before they even graduated," she added. "We do follow up with our students to find out how they're doing, if they're working, if we can help them find work or whatever is needed. With our previous cohort, we had five graduates, and all five have work. That's a 100 per cent placement rate."

The WAMTC's new graduates could also benefit from a looming labour shortage in the marine industry. Drover-Davidson contends there is "a serious shortage coming up in the next five years," as "about 20,000 mariners will be retiring."

"Those jobs need to be filled," she said. "We do need ferries, we do need Coast Guard people, we do need container [ship] operators. We need all of these jobs, and if there's nobody to fill the void, then we're all in a lot of trouble because our goods won't be able to be delivered. We won't be able to cross the Gulf. We won't be able to do a lot of things without having qualified mariners."

WAMTC's next bridge watch rating program will kick off on Jan. 20, this time in Inuvik. 12 students signed up, including nine women, Drover-Davidson said, which is "quite unique for the North."

The next iteration of the program in Hay River is slated to begin in the fall. 

The program is open to all Northerners, as well as women and Indigenous people from anywhere in Canada.

"It doesn't cost the students anything," according to Drover-Davidson, as WAMTC handles tuition, the costs of books and supplies, accommodation, travel fees, basic food requirements and "pretty much everything that you can think of." Students are required to have completed high school.