From the Desk of the Director of Education - Vance McPherson
Earlier this month, the Lifelong Learning Centre, located here in Sagamok Anishnawbek, became the first Indigenous-led training centre for mining in Canada.
Let’s allow that to sink in for a minute.
The idea that education is a Lifelong – “womb to ancestry” – process is deeply rooted in the collective Sagamok psyche. For decades, community plans and visions have described a Lifelong Learning Centre – call it a Centre of Excellence, call it Sagamok College – that would help learners at any level to reach their potential.
Now, less than a year since Chief & Council approved the business case for the Lifelong Learning Centre, we have built community capacity in data sheets and dressmaking, process maps and mentorship, administration and Anishinaabemowin. Most recently, in conjunction with our Legend Mining partners, we have developed and launched in-house Surface Common Core training (required for almost every mining job) and Underground Common Core (our most popular offering yet!).
All this time, the Lifelong Learning Centre has continued to do what it, and its predecessor organizations, have always done: offered counselling, coaching, and financial support to students in secondary, post-secondary, adult education, and employment and training programs. Our Guidance and Career Coaches are familiar with all of these programs, ensuring that anyone who comes to us for support can get the support they need from the very first Coach to whom they are assigned.
It would be impossible to imagine how any of this could have happened without the indefatigable leadership of Claudette Jones, who has carried the monumental dual portfolio of Lifelong Learning Programs and Services for over a year. In her tenure, she has overseen significant organizational change and launched excellent programming. I am very pleased that the Lifelong Learning Centre has very quickly evolved to the point where Claudette can focus 100% of her energy on making the excellent Services that we provide even better. This year, Claudette will be investigating a new model for delivering adult education: stay tuned.
I am also excited to announce our posting for the position of Lifelong Learning Programs Manager. We are off to a great start, and there is so much more to do. By working with our own staff, developing partnerships, and dialoguing with economists and experts within and beyond Sagamok, the Programs Manager will ensure that we match the awesome potential of Sagamok Learners to the incredible opportunities available in our community through world-class education and training.
I can’t wait for next year, when the Director’s Reflection in the Summer Education Newsletter will describe the awesome achievements of both the Programs and the Services that we offer at the Lifelong Learning Centre.