Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
On behalf of Nunavut Fisheries and Marine Training Consortium, NFMTC, I would like to thank you for the invitation to share a success story with you about a training program with far-reaching effects on the lives of Inuit beneficiaries in Nunavut.
NFMTC was formed to meet the employment opportunities presented by the emerging fishing industry in Nunavut. Our program is an example of how partnerships can work together to bring about change.
Who are our partners? The Government of Canada and the Government of Nunavut provide financial resources. Inuit training organizations provide financial resources and help identify students on a regional level. The hunters and trappers organizations throughout Nunavut help identify students locally and provide assistance with applications. Nunavut Arctic College provides great in-kind contributions, classroom and other space, and greatly reduced rates in accommodation and meals. The Marine Institute is contracted by NFMTC through the college to deliver our highly specialized training. Very important are our fishing industry partners, those companies that hold fishing quota in the waters adjacent to Nunavut. They provide financial resources; they help identify required training; and most importantly, they provide jobs. Without this element, the training would serve little purpose.
NFMTC provides training in the marine industry: offshore and inshore fishing, fish-processing plants, commercial and research vessels. We provide training that is not a made-for-Nunavut solution. Training is mandated and certified by Transport Canada and is internationally recognized.
Training occurs mainly in Nunavut, closer to the homes of our trainees. Only for very advanced training requiring highly specialized equipment do our students leave the territory.
Our training is responsive to industry needs. Yes, Transport Canada mandates what needs to be in the curriculum for their certification, but industry may have additional requirements.
What happens when our students complete their training? This is where the story gets good. This past year we had approximately 300 course participants in some 35 different courses. Our course completion rate is up to about 95%. That's up from some 75 students in seven courses, with a completion rate of about 70% in the early years. We actually have to turn students away now. For every 12 seats, we get 40 to 50 applications.
Are there jobs for our trainees? The answer is a resounding yes. Our industry needs crew for their vessels. In one of our last courses, all 12 students went to sea; that's 12 positions taken by Inuit crew on various fishing vessels. The last few years have seen huge increases in the number of young Inuit going into the offshore industry. This past fishing season was our best so far with 100 Inuit on the various offshore fishing vessels. In the past, we had maybe 20 or 30, so that's a huge increase.
The whole mindset is changing. Our students, having gained successful employment on the vessels, are becoming role models in the communities. In days past if we asked students whether they knew anyone in the industry, there might be one or two in the class, and now every hand goes up. They, too, want to get out of their cycle of poverty and unemployment and have successful careers.
The inshore fishery has grown also. While this is highly seasonal work, the Government of Nunavut reports that there are about 100 inshore fishers. An inshore winter turbot fisher can earn upwards of $70,000 in a three-month period. It's good money.
In full season, 50 to 60 workers in the three processing plants in Nunavut process fish from the inshore fishery and get it ready for the market.
Then there are the cargo vessels. In the last two years our expanded training has assisted eight Inuit in finding employment on these vessels. There are plans by the two large sealift companies that serve Nunavut to increase their Inuit complement.
We've also provided training for a young woman and several young men to work on the RV Nuliajuk. That's the Government of Nunavut's research vessel.
With a population of about 30,000 and with more than half that population under the age of 18 years, there are now approximately 275 people employed in the marine industry directly as a result of our training programs, and that's in this past year.
What is the economic benefit of this training to Nunavut and to Canada as a whole?
An offshore fisher makes between $75,000 and $100,000 per year. Most of that is spent in local communities. If there are five fishers in one community, that's about $450,000 of revenue into a very small community of less than 1,000 people. One hundred offshore fishers earning $90,000 per year pay income taxes of about $2.7 million. The Government of Nunavut levies a payroll tax of 2%, so that's another $200,000.
Last year we received $1.5 million in federal and territorial funding. Given these numbers, we can say we're self-funding and in fact helping to balance the budget.
There are other benefits that are harder to measure, such as savings on income support, subsidized housing, and health care. The incidence of violence and crime decreases as income increases. The children of a parent who is able to support those children are much more inclined to finish their education. These are far-reaching results that are very difficult to measure in dollar values.
Why are we successful? There are several integral parts that help us provide meaningful training leading to jobs.
One of the things is a pre-training course. This is a two-week course that helps applicants decide if the industry is for them, and that helps us to screen applicants, the pre-assessment that was talked about, that we heard in the last session.
The second thing is we have realistic industry-driven accredited training. Our training is industry responsive, delivered in an environment resembling very much what the workplace will be, to industry standards. For instance, at nine o'clock the door closes because the ship has sailed. So you don't come to class.
We've added a bridge training simulator to our training equipment, allowing students to experience bridge duties. Many students have never seen the bridge of a ship, so this is a great motivator for students. Our training is accredited by Transport Canada. We work with them continually to improve our training and increase our capabilities. We want to provide training that will overcome every obstacle an Inuit faces in maintaining or advancing in his or her employment.
The third thing that's important is the industry partnerships. They provide not only financial assistance and jobs at the end of the training, but we also have a strong working relationship with them whereby we can help underemployed individuals advance in their training, also allowing new entrants into the industry.
The fourth thing that's important is the flexible funding arrangements that ensure our training program fits into funding arrangements. We're currently an SPF program, and that's working well for us. We need that flexibility to allow for work plan and budget changes during the course of an agreement, as needs change.
It's important to have the flexibility in not being limited to a per-person cost. A student who wants to work on a factory freezer trawler will need a bridge-watch rating. Training in one year can cost up to $45,000. The cost of training in the north is enormous, with the cost of travel making up much of this cost. It costs anywhere between $400 and $2,000 to travel one way between Iqaluit and outlying communities.
With this flexibility we realize there's also accountability, and that principle underlies our program.
The fifth integral component is the students, individuals willing to take a chance in a new industry, willing to leave their communities for training and for employment, willing to open their minds to something new, and wanting something better for themselves and their families.
That's the real success story: Inuit beneficiaries who have taken advantage of an opportunity for real training leading to real jobs in a territory where there are few jobs.
On behalf of those Inuit beneficiaries, thank you to the Government of Canada for your support and believing in our program.