Fisheries personnel training
One of AMIK’s missions is to offer training to its member communities to ensure the development of a qualified Innu workforce. Under its AAROM agreement with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, AMIK offers courses each year that prepare students for the many aspects of a career as a fisherman’s helper, fisherman or a fishing boat captain. The possibility of creating and maintaining quality employment is particularly important, as it allows Innu communities to ensure an autonomous economy as well as the well-being of their members.
Training needs are identified annually through consultations with members. The teachers chosen to provide the training are residents of Innu communities as much as possible and students represent the seven member communities in Sept-Îles. Since 2006, AMIK has trained between 25 and 55 persons per year representing the seven member communities. The courses offered to fisherman’s helpers, fishermen and captains are the following:
- Workshop Operations (Welding and Metalwork)
- Mending (Acquisition and Maintenance of Fishing Gear)
- Marine Mechanics (Motor repair and Maintenance)
- Hydraulic Systems of a Boat (Knowledge and Basic Maintenance)
- Marine First Aid (On-board First Aid)
- MED-A1 (Marine Emergency Duties: Basic Safety)
- ROC-MC (Restricted Operator’s Certificate – Maritime Commercial)
- Fish Handling and On-board Preservation
- Working On-Deck (Handling Fishing Vessels and Fish)
- Fisheries Management (Laws, Objectives, Methodology and Ethics)
- Vessel Structure Maintenance
- Fishing Master Class IV Certification
In response to the expressed needs of its members to train more captains, AMIK will be offering a Fishing Master Class IV certification in conjunction with the École des pêches et de l’aquaculture du Québec for the 2016-17 season.
Continuing education for administrators
AMIK’s seven administrators also receive training specific to their responsibilities as administrators and fishing coordinators for their communities.
Awareness and Education
Since its creation in 2006, AMIK has managed numerous projects that include awareness training targeting different audiences. These projects aim specifically to preserve the species and habitats holding a cultural, social or ceremonial importance to the Innu community. Awareness training on endangered species and their habitats is equally part of AMIK’s mandate.
Examples of Achievements:
- Science Promotion Workshops for Aboriginal Youth (2017/20 – Ongoing)
- Shipek mak Shipu Summer Camps for Youth from the Innu Communities of the Lower North Shore (2016/17)
- PURMER Summer Camp (2016/17)
- Development and Land Use Planning of Uashat’s Coastal Footpath (2016/17)
- Atlantic Salmon Conservation Through the Promotion of Traditional Indigenous Knowledge in Innu Communities on the North Shore (2012/14)
- Shipekᵘ mak Shipu Summer Camps for Youth From Six Innu Communities (2014)
- Awareness Campaign and Community Involvement in the Preservation of Animal and Plant Habitats of the Innu Traditional Territory (2013/14)
- Publication of an Innu/French Storybook Entitled “Histoires du Nitassinan : Les animaux en danger de disparition” (2012)
- First Nations Community Involvement in the Protection of Endangered Species and Their Habitats (2008/10)
- Awareness Training and Monitoring of Aboriginal Fishermen on How To Proceed With the Endangered Marine Life of the Saint Lawrence (2008/09)
- Awareness Workshops on Endangered Marine Mammals (2007/08)
Contact
For more information on the training sessions AMIK offers its members, please contact Serge Langelier, Fisheries Manager.