One of the most isolated First Nations communities in British Columbia has taken an innovative approach to training its own forest workers. The Kwadacha Nation of Fort Ware, BC, and Macrolink Administration of Prince George, BC, are working together to bring a series of courses to this remote community.
Kwadacha is about 570 km north of Prince George, itself over 500 km north of Vancouver. Access has traditionally been by small plane, which entails a two-hour flight from Prince George at a cost of over $550 return. Or if one has the time and is up to the challenge, it's a 10 to 12 hour drive (depending on road and weather conditions), partly via a logging road.
Delivering training programs in the local community has long been a challenge. Shaun Kuzio is the director of forest operations for the Kwadacha Natural Resource Agency, a Kwadacha-owned company established to manage the natural resources of the Kwadacha traditional territory. The Kwadacha Nation wanted to administer training internally, he says, but didn't have the skills or training to develop courses themselves. "We wanted something the band could take ownership of," Kuzio explains.
That's when Kuzio sought out Macrolink Administration, a company that produces and markets course kits under the name of Capacity Trainer Resources. Their course kit list includes silviculture and forestry, safety and fire suppression, personal and professional development and business and management courses.
Training to Work
Macrolink's course kits are developed on the principle of training people for work. Each course kit comes fully equipped with a detailed facilitator manual, a reproducible participant workbook, reference material, and training aids. "We were very impressed with Macrolink's course content, completeness and overall quality," Kuzio says.
Kuzio is responsible for helping create, implement, and manage Kwadacha's Forest Development Plan. Their forest licence allows them to harvest 53 000 m[Symbol Not Transcribed] annually for 15 years and co-manage 147 000 m[Symbol Not Transcribed] with Abitibi-Consolidated of Mackenzie, BC.
Kuzio plans to begin harvesting in the 2002/2003-winter season with preliminary layout work and forest worker training courses beginning in spring.
The first stage of training, a seven-day introductory module taught by Kuzio, includes six courses: Personal Opportunities and Career Exploration; Safety in the Forestry Workplace; Forest Practices Code Awareness; Basic Forestry; Basic Forest Science; and Map and Compass Use.
Stage two, an eleven-day silviculture module, includes five courses: Advanced Forestry; Advanced Forest Science; Introduction to Silviculture Surveys; Silviculture Prescriptions; and Forest Health.
The final stage of training is a twelve-day operations module that encompasses the final five courses: Introduction to Road Layout and Design; Timber Cruiser Skills Training; Wildlife/Danger Tree Awareness; River and Stream Restoration; and Residue and Waste Introductory Course.
Initially, 16 band members signed up for training, with the list eventually narrowed down to six. "These individuals are not being paid to take the training - they are genuinely interested in taking the training so that they can get the jobs," Kuzio explains. "We will teach them basic skills so that they may be paired up with practicing professionals in the field."
As operations expand, more people in the community will be trained. Kwadacha is the first group to be offered the courses, but according to Kuzio, courses will eventually be offered in the other Kaska communities of Good Hope Lake and Lower Post. One of the benefits of Macrolink's courses is that they are highly portable. "We can pick up a course bin and be ready to offer training wherever we need," Kuzio says.
There are obvious economic benefits to training locally. In the past, training was offered that did not lead to employment and opportunities were lost. "I feel that the approach both Kwadacha and Macrolink have taken to getting silviculture and forestry training to this community is groundbreaking," Kuzio says. "There is tremendous interest in what is being done."
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