WHITEHORSE—The Yukon government is expanding its Yukon College land reserve surrounding Ayamdigut campus. This will support a long term planning initiative by Yukon College to complete a campus master plan.

“Planning for the educational needs of Yukon students and the growing demand for skilled workers by Yukon industry are key to the long-term success of Yukon College and its work to meet the needs of students, partners, local businesses and governments,” Education Minister Elaine Taylor said.

The College has committed to completing the master plan within a five-year term.

“The college is outgrowing its physical space. With the newly-announced Centre for Northern Innovation in Mining, as well as the Yukon Research Centre and work of the Northern Institute for Social Justice, Yukon College has experienced tremendous growth in programming, research and community expectations in the past five years,” said Yukon College Board of Governors Chair Paul Flaherty.

WHITEHORSE—The Government of Yukon will provide $5.8 million in funding to assist the delivery of trades training through the Centre for Northern Innovation in Mining (CNIM).

“The Centre for Northern Innovation in Mining will provide Yukoners with the training they need to gain successful careers in the territory’s mining industry,” Premier Darrell Pasloski said. “It will give Yukoners in-demand trades experience and help provide the labour market with the skilled workers it needs.”

This commitment will provide operation and maintenance funding across five years to support CNIM programming. It is in addition to the $5.6 million in capital funding previously announced, which matches federal capital funding for CNIM. This will bring the Yukon government contribution to CNIM to more than $11 million over five years.

WHITEHORSE – Yukoners now have the ease of shopping online for local arts and crafts in one place this holiday season. Yukon’s Borealist online classifieds has just launched an addition to their website that will give them a competitive edge to sites like Kijiji, and eBay. Shoppers and vendors on Borealist will now find the new Storefronts feature that allows them to access virtual stores hosted by local artisans.

Technology Innovation, of the Yukon Research Centre, funded Borealist Storefronts $10, 000 to support the programming for this venture, in addition to funding the first phase of development.

DAWSON CITY – The Yukon School of Visual Art (SOVA) has two new reasons why young artists across North America should consider the only art school north of 60 for their foundation year. The School has announced two new entrance scholarships of $1,000 each – one for full-time students applying from within Yukon, and another for full-time students applying from anywhere else in North America.

“Our location, our faculty of practicing artists, our small class size, our connections with local First Nations culture, together provide an attractive and compelling package for prospective students. The introduction of these entrance scholarships enables us to more directly compete with bigger schools across Canada and the US, all of whom offer financial incentives to promising applicants,” said Dr. Curtis Collins, SOVA chair and program director.

WHITEHORSE – The financial challenge of obtaining an education will get a little easier for 38 students this week. They will receive bursary and scholarship awards tomorrow evening at the Yukon College Awards Ceremony.

The awards range from bursaries of $200 to a full year of tuition. Each year there is $152,300 available in financial assistance to full-time Yukon College students, $70,229 of which is administered directly by Yukon College. The annual event brings bursary donors together with the students who have earned them.

“It’s meaningful for students and donors to meet each other and for donors to hear how important their generosity is directly from the students who are receiving it,” said Bente Sorensen, Associate Registrar.

WHITEHORSE – Dr. Shawkat Shareef is worried about Fort McMurray. The city of over 60,000 people in northern Alberta draws workers for its lucrative oil and gas projects from all over the world. It is a multi-cultural city, yet efforts by local government and resource companies to advocate a more inclusive and socially sustainable community could be undermined by the sheer number of single, wealthy, transient young men who live and work there.

Shareef is a developmental sociologist who has moved to Whitehorse with his family to teach at Yukon College after 12 years at the University of Alberta. In 2012, he spent 10 months living and working in Fort McMurray, and is alarmed by what he saw in what has been described as Canada’s manliest city.

“There is an unabated flow of cash. An open display of wealth by the young men of this city breeds a kind of arrogant, hostile masculinity, because they don’t have to depend on anyone else for anything,” said Shareef.

WHITEHORSE – Yukon College, Volunteer Bénévoles Yukon and Yukon Work InfoNET (YuWIN) are presenting an Education, Career and Volunteer Expo on Thursday October 10 from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Yukon College Gym at Ayamdigut campus.

The expo offers students and city residents an opportunity to connect with Yukon employers, explore education options, and seek out meaningful volunteer positions.  Representatives from over 45 companies, professional associations, non-profit groups and post-secondary educational institutions will be on hand to connect with people at the event.

For Trina Nerysoo, a second-year Business Administration student, this event comes at exactly the right time.

“I want to transfer into the third year of a bachelor of commerce program after I finish my diploma. I’m looking forward to meeting some potential schools in person at the Expo to learn more about them and what they offer,” said Nerysoo.

WHITEHORSE – Dr. Deborah Bartlette has been named as Vice President Academic and Student Services at Yukon College. Bartlette has been the Dean of Applied Arts at the College since 2010.

The Geldart Group, a company specialising in the recruitment of senior executives in post-secondary education, spoke to over 400 people across Canada and brought forward seven candidates to be interviewed for the position.

“It says a lot about the calibre of our staff, that an internal candidate won out over some very strong competition,” said Dr. Karen Barnes, President of Yukon College. “Dr. Bartlette is dedicated to our students and passionate about the Yukon. She will provide strong academic leadership at the College as we develop our own degree programs and as we implement the new strategic plan.”

WHITEHORSE - Northern Impressions, an exhibit of 11 photographs by Atlin-based artist Manu Keggenhoff opens on Thursday October 3 at the Hilltop Bistro at Yukon College. The opening is from 4.30 p.m. until 6.30 p.m. with Keggenhoff in attendance.

The exhibit is a collection of Keggenhoff’s favourite black and white photography and includes a mix of long exposures and wildlife images.
“I spend a lot of time taking very colourful, vibrant and busy images. The stark, simple black and white images in this exhibit are what I need at other times to rest my eyes and my mind, to focus on a single point in a spare landscape,” said Keggenhoff.

PELLY CROSSING - Ten Selkirk FN citizens were declared “trailblazers” last night by Chief Kevin McGinty after successfully completing the Heavy Equipment Operator Essential Skills program at the Hets’ edän kú’ campus of Yukon College in Pelly Crossing.

Rolland Gunter, Allen Joe, Darrin Johnnie, Amy Johnny, Katherine Musick, Amanda Sam, Kelly Silas, Lazareth Simon and Nathan Roberts, and Robin Sam were each honored with speeches, gifts and applause at a graduation ceremony attended by over 80 people at the town’s community centre.

The three women and seven men have spent the past month learning how to operate caterpillar haul trucks and other large machines on a simulator and through hands on training as part of the Pelly Construction haul crew at Minto Mine.