Former Nunavut Arctic College president Mike Shouldice saw a lot of positive developments during his almost three decades with the institution.

Shouldice started with Nunavut Arctic College in 1987, spending 27 years with the college, including five as president, before retiring in 2014. He participated in three 15-year plans for education.

SA国际影视传媒淧ersonally, I think the college has had a significant impact on the employment of Inuit in the public service sector,SA国际影视传媒� said Shouldice. SA国际影视传媒淚 kept saying to people while I was the president of the college that if it wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 for Nunavut Arctic College, when you look around, the whole face of employment in Northern communities, Rankin Inlet in particular, would be totally different.

SA国际影视传媒淚 mean, you have the two-year diplomas in management studies, a variety of finance positions and management positions that all came out of it. Although weSA国际影视传媒檝e turned out a lot of teachers, I find that a lot of Inuit teachers, and this is a good thing, have moved on. They have a degree and theySA国际影视传媒檝e moved into different professions.

SA国际影视传媒淭he rub today is that theySA国际影视传媒檙e not in senior positions but, you know, thereSA国际影视传媒檚 only so many senior positions. And the government kicks itself because it doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 have the target percentage of Inuit employees, but there are some departments doing very, very well with high Inuit employment and responsibility.SA国际影视传媒�

Shouldice, 71, said he also has great respect for whatSA国际影视传媒檚 been accomplished by the Ilitaqsiniq Nunavut Literacy Council.

Ilitaqsiniq, which was the recipient of the $1 million Arctic Inspiration Prize in 2022, is conducting successful training all over the North, Shouldice said.

SA国际影视传媒淚litaqsiniqSA国际影视传媒檚 staff members are totally impressive. These people are mufti-talented, well-educated, running these programs and creating educational opportunities,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淚 kind of admire them because those who moved on from other employment, or government employment, find themselves now in a rather highly-creative atmosphere.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 not just about literacy. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 about moving your life forward. And the people who work there, my goodness, I would say they are the best of the best.

SA国际影视传媒淪o, thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a group that didnSA国际影视传媒檛 measure themselves by whether they had a government job or not. They are people with a good education and a volunteer-type background in the community and theySA国际影视传媒檙e moving things forward.SA国际影视传媒�

Shouldice said some people may say heSA国际影视传媒檚 viewing things through rose-coloured glasses, but when he looks at Ilitaqsiniq he sees a sign of real success from its staff members, who also take ownership of the process.

He said the college contributed greatly to getting people into the public service and is a big employer in its own right.

SA国际影视传媒淭he mine industry is another super-important one for picking up a certain segment of the population and giving them well-paying jobs.

SA国际影视传媒淪o, in terms of employment, I think the college has really done well with folks. ThereSA国际影视传媒檚 enough Inuit now who have degrees and are actually teaching at the college. These people are helping improve the community and are moving things forward.

SA国际影视传媒淭hese may not be high, high numbers but weSA国际影视传媒檝e seen significant progress,SA国际影视传媒� he added.

Shouldice said after Nunavut divided from the Northwest Territories, Nunavut Arctic College really focused on making Inuit values the core of programming.

He said when he was with the college and theySA国际影视传媒檇 do a program guide or curriculum development, they had to state, in that process, what core values for Inuit did this initiative contribute to.

SA国际影视传媒淭hat was a healthy direction for the college, in that it taught Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit. It was really quite good.

SA国际影视传媒淢y absolute favourite moment was when Bert Rose suggested that instead of people going to the teacher education program in Iqaluit, delivery of the program should be remote.

SA国际影视传媒淲e had three or four communities where we had classroom assistants who had a year of this or a year of that. And then, with McGill University, they delivered the full bachelorSA国际影视传媒檚 program in the early 1990s in Baker Lake, Rankin and Arviat because the numbers were higher.

SA国际影视传媒淏ut people from Coral Harbour or Naujaat would flip over and it was very successful. The instructors would fly in, stay a few weeks, build a program and then move on. We thought if we got 20 out of 30 people to finish their degrees that would be excellent, but we ended-up with more than 30 and a huge graduation. It, as it turns out, was a sign of things to come.SA国际影视传媒�