GDI is a Saskatchewan-based educational, employment and cultural institute serving Métis across the province
Nov 6, 2015
Posted in: Uncategorized
By Daniel Downs
Anyone who has spent time on open waters knows that you are as likely to encounter rough waters, as you are to find calm. When waters are rough, more hands on deck simply means the potential for more hands to get seasick in high waves. Having more people on board will not help you steer your ship any better; it will not allow you to sail your ship any faster; and it will often see you change course numerous times for reasons uncertain.
So too will you find this in program planning at the College level when multiple partners are involved. Many hands on deck do not often make for easy steering, faster speed, or straight-line navigation. In all regards, a partnership is a difficult ship to sail.
So why would one want to engage in such an activity? Surely one is to encounter rough waters as often as calm when engaging in partnerships? Surely it would be easier to go it alone, where the success and failures of reaching your goal rest in your own hands?
To me, the answer can be summed up rather easily. Although partners may have different methods, motives, or even mandates behind their goals… they all have one thing in common. A shared vision … the true spirit of partnership.
For years, Dumont Technical Institute has engaged in many partnership programs with our sister company GDI Training & Employment, other Regional Colleges, Friendship Centres, Government Ministries, Community agencies, and communities as a whole in the planning, design, and implementation of programming in the province. This year, I have had the opportunity to engage in several programs that would not have been possible without the participation of partners. Be it a means to share financial resources, pool expertise, or simply to draw attention to many of the training and educational needs facing communities, partners have remained a critical part of the vision Dumont Technical Institute holds for the Métis of Saskatchewan.
One program I would like to highlight, unique to me in my tenure with Dumont Technical Institute, has been the Heavy Duty Equipment Technician Level 1 program awarded to Dumont Technical Institute by the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission (SATCC). What has traditionally only existed in the realm of Saskatchewan Polytechnic… the leveled training of apprentices within the Province, was awarded this year to Dumont Technical Institute in Prince Albert. In this, Dumont Technical Institute has been asked through SATCC to offer an eight-week training program to Saskatchewan apprentices; having them progress from Level 1 to Level 2 apprentices within the province.
Due to Dumont Technical Institute’s continued and constantly evolving partnership with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure, as well as GDI Training & Employment in its promotion of apprenticeship programming and employment throughout the province, Dumont Technical Institute was a safe training bet for SATCC. The trials, tribulations, course corrections, and rough waters that had been navigated by Dumont Technical Institute and GDI Training & Employment previously, allowed for Dumont Technical Institute and the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure to carry out the training required for 12 Saskatchewan Apprentices that would not have had the opportunity to progress in their employment this year if not for the ongoing partnership work being done.
It is the hoped that this training program will continue to highlight Dumont Technical Institute’s partnership with both GDI Training & Employment and Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure in the promotion of trades and apprenticeship training for Métis people in the province, and show that GDI and our government partners are a continued safe investment
GDI is a Saskatchewan-based educational, employment and cultural institute serving Métis across the province
