WHITEHORSE— At 38 years old, Richard McLeod is finally enrolled in the program he was looking for when he was 18.

“I was a backyard mechanic with my dad, so I’ve always wanted to be a heavy equipment technician,” said McLeod, a student in Yukon College’s Heavy Equipment Technician (HET) Pre-Apprenticeship Program. “It was definitely something

I searched for when I finished high school. I’m happy to have the chance now, and I think it’s a great opportunity for younger people too.”

The program is currently being offered at the College’s Dawson City campus, in a mobile trailer that travels between community campuses to facilitate opportunities like this – an 18-week pre-apprenticeship that will give McLeod a head start in the trade.

$3 million investment will create jobs, expand research and foster innovation

WHITEHORSE – Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Canadians will be better equipped for the well-paying middle-class jobs of today and tomorrow as a result of a $3.06 million investment in Yukon College.

This joint federal-territorial investment was announced today by Larry Bagnell, Member of Parliament for Yukon, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, by Dr. Judith Arnold, Deputy Minister of Education, on behalf of the Honourable Tracy-Anne McPhee, Yukon Minister of Education, and by Dr. Karen Barnes, President and Vice Chancellor of Yukon College.

Whitehorse—Yukon College will deliver a brand new course that addresses national changes to the standards for using permanent wood foundations in building construction.

The two-day course, running April 27 and 28, focusses on changes to the guidelines set out by the Canadian Standards Association for wood foundation structures. These include technical rules as well as new allowances for three-storey construction, and longer building spans.

“These changes create more opportunity because you can have larger rooms and bigger houses,” said Henry Walthert, Executive Director of Wood Preservation Canada (WPC), which is co-hosting the course with the College and the Canadian Wood Council.

The class won’t be a regular offering at the College, but will serve as a model, to be refined for various audiences and offered across Canada.

Whitehorse – A few new bridges are going up in Whitehorse this weekend – 132 of them, to be exact. That’s the number of entries in the 24th Annual Bridge Building competition taking place at Porter Creek Secondary School this Saturday, April 8.

The event, organized by Science Adventures at Yukon College and Engineers Yukon, attracted 211 students from 13 schools in the territory.

Tantalus Community School in Carmacks has the most entries, with 20 bridges. Ghùch Tlâ Community School in Carcross, and Jack Hulland Elementary in Whitehorse follow closely, with 19 bridges each.

The contest challenges teams of up to four students to build the lightest bridge capable of holding the most weight. To achieve this, contestants use wooden coffee stir sticks, white glue and dental floss.

WHITEHORSE—Four ideas from five Yukon innovators have been shortlisted for the 2017 Yukon Innovation Prize. The finalists will each receive $10,000 to further develop their idea and compete for the grand prize of $60,000.

WHITEHORSE—Two members of the Canadian Association of Research Ethics Boards (CAREB) will be at Yukon College next week to give a public talk on research ethics and provide training to the College’s Research Ethics Board (REB).

Dr. Sharon Freitag directs the research ethics office at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and Dr. Rachel Zand directs the research ethics office at the University of Toronto.

“Training in research ethics sets the standards for responsible conduct in human research. It focusses researchers on the need to be accountable to the public and contribute to the good of society as a whole,” said Freitag. “While one might think that these principles are intuitive, history has shown us that continuous education and training is needed.”

Clint Sawicki, Interim Vice President Research at the College said research ethics has grown to encompass more than just clinical medical trials.

WHITEHORSE— Teslin will become a trendsetter this week, when the Yukon College campus there delivers a nine-day program teaching students how to harvest wood chips and install biomass boilers. By program’s end, those boilers will heat 10 buildings, including Teslin Community School, the Lands office, and a number of rental units.

“Many Yukon communities will look to Teslin in the future because they are going to be the leaders here for this type of technology,” said Stephen Mooney, Director of Cold Climate Innovation at the Yukon Research Centre, which is collaborating on the program with Teslin Tlingit Council (TTC) and the Government of Yukon’s Energy Solutions Centre (ESC). “Teslin is taking care of a resource that is renewable. This allows the community to be independent and in control of its energy needs.”

WHITEHORSE— Electrician apprentices no longer have to leave the territory to complete training.

For the first time since the program launched more than 20 years ago, the College is now offering level-four electrical – the final level required to gain Red Seal certification.

Jeff Wolosewich, Department Head at the Centre for Northern Innovation in Mining School of Trades, Technology and Mining, said that until now students had to travel Outside to complete the 12-week training.  

“Normally they go to Alberta to finish,” said Wolosewich. “Twelve weeks away in a new place can be hard if you have kids and a family.”

For JayJ Flynn, it would have been more than hard – it would have been impossible. 

Flynn’s partner is eight months pregnant with the couple’s first child. At the same time, he is completing his level four. Relocating to attend the Northern or Southern Alberta Institute of Technology was out of the question for him.

WHITEHORSE—Over 50 people from Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories and the lower 48 states will convene in Whitehorse for The Future of Arctic Entrepreneurship Symposium on Friday, March 3 and Saturday March 4.

Innovators, experts, community members, scholars and policy makers will share best-practice examples of current Arctic renewable energy projects. They will also devise funding and policy solutions that will help small Northern communities move away from diesel and towards renewable energy security.

“We want community members to learn more about the challenges and benefits of integrating different energy systems and then return to champion energy innovation in their community,” said Stephen Mooney, director, Cold Climate Innovation (CCI) at Yukon College.

WHITEHORSE— For three decades, students from across the Yukon and Stikine region of B.C. have gathered to present their scientific explorations. This year’s action will take place at Yukon College on Saturday, February 18.

The 10 schools represented include Holy Family, St. Elias in Haines Junction, Takhini Elementary, Christ the King, Del Van Gorder in Faro, Jack Hulland, Whitehorse Elementary, Home Educators, Kluane in Destruction Bay, and F.H. Collins.

The 76 projects on display were chosen from among 300 projects at individual school fairs to advance to this regional competition.  

Though the event features entries from grades four through 12, students from grade seven to 12 will compete for the chance to move on to the Canada-Wide Science Festival in Regina this spring.