Education

C M Y K PAGE 3 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT • SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2021 3 EDUCATION GUIDE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF THE NORTH A new way of learning UCN's InTeRN program helping northern women find careers in IT field BY JIM TIMLICK A new program being offered by University College of the North (UCN) in The Pas promises to transform not only the way people in northern Manitoba learn but also how they live. The Information Technology Readiness North program, or In- TeRN, is a pilot project designed to address gaps and barriers that pre- vent northern women from finding jobs in the Information Technol- ogy (IT) field. InTeRN was officially launched in September with an ini- tial class of eight students and the first session is scheduled to wrap up next June. Tara Manych, an Innovations Con- sultant with UCN, says the aim of the program is to provide future employ- ment opportunities that until now did not exist for women in the north. "There are basically no visible northern or Indigenous women in- volved in tech in Northern Mani- toba. There is definitely a gap and we felt strongly that we could bridge that gap with this type of learning," she says. Students in the InTeRN program will be taught a variety of different IT skills including cabling, how to dismantle and reassemble comput- ers, and how to build websites. Suc- cessful graduates of the program will receive their networking essentials credentials through the Cisco Net- working Academy. Manych says InTeRN was designed to provide students with hands-on learning opportunities. In addition to in-class learning, students have access to a fully-stocked computer lab where they can check out all of the equipment they are receiving in- struction on. UCN has also partnered with the Computers for Schools Manitoba program to provide an employment component as part of InTeRN. Stu- dents spend a portion of their week testing, cleaning and refurbishing computer equipment that will then be redeployed by the non-profit agency to schools across the prov- ince. Students receive a salary for the work they do on behalf of Comput- ers for Schools. William McBride, Technology Instructor and consultant with In- TeRN, says this hands-on approach will give students a huge advantage upon graduation. "They're going to be very, very skilled when they graduate. They'll be job-ready and in a good position to move forward with their careers," he explains. Something that makes InTeRN unique from other similar IT train- ing programs is the fact that it's been designed to reflect the culture of the communities served by UCN. School officials refer to this cultural compo- nent as a sweetgrass model and it's based on the sacred plant that plays an important role in many Indige- nous cultures. As part of this model, oral storytelling is braided together with IT skills, and employability and mentorship to provide a deeper level of understanding. Approximately 70 per cent of UCN's more than 2,000 students are Indigenous. "You can teach someone a skill, quiz them on it and a week later they won't remember what they were taught. But if you can give them hands-on experience with the learning, build employability skills and weave it into how it relates to their daily culture that's a different kind of knowing and it's perma- nent," Manych says. One of the most exciting aspects of InTeRN for Manych and others involved in the program is that it will provide students with an op- portunity to find paid, meaningful employment in their own commu- nities rather than having to move elsewhere. "That's the really exciting part of all this," she says. "This program has the potential to overcome the pov- erty barriers people face here in the north from their own homes in their own communities and to be role models for their own kids." UCN received funding for InTeRN through the Future Skills Centre (FSC), a pan-Canadian organization dedicated to helping Canadians gain the skills they need to thrive in a changing labour market (fsc-ccf. ca). The school's hope is that fund- ing will be extended so that it will be able to offer additional training to current students next year and eventually open up the program to all learners. While it is still early days for the program, Manych says school offi- cials have been extremely pleased with the feedback they have re- ceived from students. "It's been a really welcome addi- tion to UCN. Students feel this is something groundbreaking here. They see the potential of it. It's not just a course with a certificate that they leave with. It's going to be the means to a better outcome for our community." ey're going to be very, very skilled when they graduate. ey'll be job-ready and in a good position to move forward with their careers." — William McBride, Technology Instructor and consultant with InTeRN Student Brenda Bignell refurbishes a computer as part of the Information Technology Readiness North (InTeRN) pilot project at University College of the North in The Pas. Student Danielle McMaster (left) discusses random access memory with instructor Matthew McGregor. Alyssa Provost and her classmates will receive their networking essentials credentials through the Cisco Networking Academy as part of the InTeRN program.

• Cover