Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation (OFNTSC)

The OFNTSC initiated the Technical Youth Career Outreach Project (TYCOP) in 2003, as part of a strategy to encourage Aboriginal youth to take up post-secondary studies and consider careers in the science and technology fields. Science and technical professions offer secure, high quality careers choices for our youth and more First Nations professionals will lead to increased technical self-reliance of our people.

The main goals of the Technical Youth Career Outreach Program of the Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation are:

• to increase the level of awareness, among aboriginal youth, of technical career opportunities, and
• to increase the number of trained First Nations technical professionals available to fill these technical positions

The OFNTSC has created and promoted a number of highly successful initiatives, including a role model poster series, a technical career awareness web site (www.CoolCareers.ca), a series of "Soar with Science" presentations, and information sessions at career fairs. None of these events would have been possible without the support and assistance of our partners, such as Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, Aboriginal SchoolNet, and Keewaytinook Okimakanak, to name just a few.

Soar with Science Presentations

February and March of 2005

Media Reports

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board Jounal
Volume 5 Issue 6 March 2004 (link) (see page 6)

Queen Elizabeth School
The Fireball Show

The Fireball Show a science demonstation and engineering promotion was preformed by Bob Loree of McMaster University Engineering. Bob Loree is currently Director of Engineering 1 at McMaster University. He is a Professioinal Engineer with degrees in Electrical Engineering from McMaster and Education from Toronto. During his career he has created and initiated many programs, events and activities relating to science and engineering education - for example Bob created the FIREBALL Show, now in its eighth year - more thatn 1300 presentations to 450,000 students; he started Shad Valley at McMaster, trademarked the fireball; created the SCICAN Awards, started Science Fairs in Europe's Canadian Forces schools' and created a program for summer work terms for first year students - to list a few.

The full mulimedia show had been unavailable earlier in the year so Bob (the inventor of the show) offered to come up personally. The high degree of audience participation, Bob's warm personality, and the enthusiastic presentation captured the attention of the group. A few of the fast paced demonstrations involved lasers, strobes, sound, shrinking, using air pressure to pull and egg into a flask and then blowing it out, and even hitting a student with a hammer! (a demonstration of the engineering behind helmets . . . and yes the student was completely safe!) The students left the show wanting to learn more about how science applies to their lives.

Science soars at Thunder Bay high school
by Rick Garrick (link)
rickg@wawatay.on.ca

Students crushing frozen flowers and trying to escape from tied ropes were part of the kickoff of the Soar with Science show. "Volunteers were always available," said Karen Smith, one of the two science and technology role models involved in the show, held Feb. 2 in Thunder Bay. "Some were really excited to be up on stage, some were a little shy. But overall, I think they really enjoyed themselves." The one-hour Soar with Science show was designed by the Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation to encourage First Nations students to pursue science and technology careers. Smith, environmental technologist at Matawa First Nations Management and a Webequie band member, found the students to be "very attentive" due to all the hands-on science experiments in the show. The frozen flower experiment showed what changes in temperature and chemicals can do to ordinary objects and how that can be used in today's society, Smith explained. The tied rope experiment involved a problem-solving demonstration. "We had three pairs of students on stage ... held together by ropes," Smith said. "They had 45 seconds to get the ropes off. "Even if you can't solve it, you know there is a solution so you can keep on trying to solve it." Smith, who previously worked in the gold mining industry, graduated from Environmental Engineering Technology at Confederation College in 2001. Since then, she worked at Windigo First Nations Council in Sioux Lookout for about two years before joining Matawa. Smith enjoys protecting the environment, and works on fuel spills, landfill issues, and environmental appraisals for construction projects, such as the winter roads or other large infrastructure projects. The Soar with Science show was presented by Bob Loree, creator of the McMaster Engineering FIREBALL Show that visits high schools throughout Ontario, along with role models Lorri Bova, wastewater manager in Akwesasne, and Smith. "We use it to capture the attention of the youth," said Kevin Sherlock, skills development officer at OFNTSC, "and then present our message." There are a growing number of science and technology positions in First Nations organizations that could be filled by First Nations people with the qualifications and skills, Sherlock explained. "We have a First Nations engineer on staff at OFNTSC, but we don't have enough of them," Sherlock said. "Our goal is to reach as many Aboriginal youth as possible." "These are good careers. We get the impression that First Nations youth aren't aware of them yet, so we're trying to raise awareness. "When we put out a job ad, we want to recruit First Nations people." The Soar with Science show will also be presented in the Sioux Lookout area in mid-February, Cornwall and Akwesasne in late February, Wikwemikong and M'Chigeeng in early March, and Six Nations in mid-March.

Wawatay News Vol.32 #03 (February 10, 2005)
2005.02.24 | Reads: 495 |

Wanted: women for exciting careers in science
by Joyce Hunter (link)
joyceh@wawatay.on.ca

Encouraging women into science and technology careers is a fun challenge for Lac Seul’s Carla Chisel. She’s one of a handful of ladies leading the charge into male-dominated fields and is loving every minute of the way. “My whole goal in life is to build my own house from the ground up,” said the architectural technology graduate. “Of course I had no idea on how to go about doing this including the administration, materials, overall co-ordination or even how to build a house when I was young. I just knew it was something I wanted to do. There was only one way to reach my goal – go to school – so I did that. “ Chisel is now a project manager in the technical division of Matawa First Nations Management. She manages and coordinates all upcoming technical projects for the tribal council’s 10 member First Nations from start to finish. It’s a big responsibility. The 26-year-old said getting into the science/technology sector was the best decision she ever made. “It was hard to get across those prejudices,” she reflected about her past experience with being a double minority (female and Aboriginal) in the classroom. “I struggled with that quite a bit. I had a choice to give up but that’s not a word in my vocabulary.” Although she’s still working toward that dream house, she now keeps busy managing a wide variety of technical projects. It’s the type of work she thrives on. “You won’t believe how many people we send up North to fix our stuff – we send electricians, plumbers and a variety of mechanical experts into the communities whenever there is a problem,” she said. “My message to our youth is: we need you. We need your hands on skills and training so we can take control of our own community projects.” Enthusiastic about her chosen field, Chisel didn’t hesitate when she was approached to become a role model in Women in Science and Engineering. She likes the idea of encouraging others – not just women – to get into the field. Skills development officer Kevin Sherlock, the man who approached Chisel to become a role model, says there is a major shortfall of First Nations people overall in the science and technology workforce. “This shortfall isn’t limited to women although it is a male-dominated sector at the moment,” said Sherlock of Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation (OFNTSC). “There are lots of qualified, professional jobs in the science and technology sector that don’t have First Nation representation out there and that is something we’d like to see change in the near future.” OFNTSC had been working on the role model project in conjunction with the Ontario Women’s Directorate and Keewaytinook Okimakanak/Aboriginal SchoolNet to highlight women in science and technology, Sherlock added. “Five women were selected to appear as keynote speakers in the Soar With Science roadshow event earlier this year,” he said. “As part of the presentation the women spoke to First Nation youth across the province about their experiences in their respective fields.” They were able to pass their message on to 2,250 youth across the province. It is an accomplishment they are proud of. Each role model will be featured in a poster and will be the focus of a short biographical video highlighting their background, education, professional standing, and some insight into the challenges each has faced, along with successful strategies they have employed to overcome these obstacles. The videos will be distributed to First Nations communities, organizations, and media across the country, hosted on the CoolCareers.ca website, and shown at promotional events. In addition to Chisel, the following women will be highlighted in the final copies of the video vignettes: • April Wemigwans, junior programmer analyst; • Chastity Toulouse, field technologist; • Gail Obediah, interior designer/architectural technologist; and • Lorri Bova, water/wastewater infrastructure manager

Wawatay News Vol.32 #23 (November 17, 2005)
2005.11.18 | Reads: 683 |