Arctic marine training centre celebrates graduates

The Western Arctic Marine Training Centre celebrated graduates at its Hay River campus on Wednesday.

Nine students from across the North recently completed the centre’s bridge watch rating program, earning skills that instructors said will prepare them for early careers in the marine industry.

“You’re part of a long tradition of seafarers,” Premier RJ Simpson told the graduates at Wednesday’s ceremony, noting his grandfather was a river captain.

“The reason a lot of us are here is because of this river [the Hay River], and it’s great to see that there are still people from the North, young people from the North, who want to do this work.”

Rollden Eyakwo, who completed the program in the spring, is currently stationed with the Canadian Coast Guard in St John’s.

“It’s good to be employed with the government because you’re working for the public and you’re more than something other than yourself,” he told the new graduates. “It’s very great to see that northerners are being introduced into the marine industry because we need more of you.”

Seth Norn, a graduate from Fort Resolution, was honoured with the captain’s award for his leadership during the program. He told Cabin Radio he enrolled in the course looking for a career change after working as a chef for several years.

“I always dreamed about working on boats so when I heard that they were offering this program, I kind-of jumped on it right away,” he said.

Norn said students learned about knots, charts, navigation and what it takes to be a seaman. The class travelled to Vancouver for specialized training in firefighting, cold water survival and rescue operations.

“I feel like there’s a lot of training that, even if I don’t find work on a boat, it’ll help me throughout any career I want in the future,” he said.

“It was just a lot of fun and I just enjoyed taking on as much knowledge as I could.”

Norn said he hopes to start working on a ship “as soon as possible.” Until then, he starts a new cooking position in Banff on Christmas Day.

Quinn St John, a graduate from Hay River who was given the first mate’s award, said he was encouraged to enroll in the program by staff.

“It’s good to be recognized for the hard work,” he said of the award.

St John said students learned about teamwork and what it’s like working on a boat, which he described as being “like a home away from home that travels around.”

“It’s its own environment and a complete different culture,” he said.

St John said he plans to continue working as a lifeguard in Hay River for the next year and is hoping to do relief work for the coast guard.

Other graduates included Kyzer Hehn, who was given a heroism award for helping a woman who was choking while in Vancouver, Amanda Andre-Niditchie, Raymond Norn, Jacob Boucher, Wynner Joshua Ramirez, Braiden Lafferty and Indigo Mielke.

The Western Arctic Marine Training Centre, or WAMTC, was launched in 2023. Its bridge watch training program, which is offered twice a year, is fully funded for northerners as well as Indigenous people and women from across Canada.

Executive director and founder John Vandenberg said the North has a long history of maritime activities.

“To cultivate a local workforce that can serve that industry is very important,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for people to choose, if they wish, to live where they work and work where they live.”

Vandenberg said graduates of the bridge watch rating program earn certificates recognized by Transport Canada that are needed to begin working on vessels.

He added that centre staff work to introduce graduates to industry members to help them get jobs.

“Once they can get hired and they can get their real experience – the real education on the deck of a vessel – then they can progress from there,” he said.

The centre also offers shorter courses in communities in the NWT as well as northern Alberta and Manitoba, including small vessel operator proficiency and marine basic first aid.

The WAMTC is next expanding to Inuvik, with its first fully subscribed bridge watch rating program beginning in January.

“Right now we have 12 capable candidates who have been vetted through the program,” Vandenberg said, noting that Transport Canada caps the number of students that can be accepted.

“We want to make sure that we bring people in who will graduate and who we will be proud to offer to industry.”

The WATMC is also developing an officer training program, which Vandenberg said will help graduates go on to become mates and eventually captains.