Web portal aims at educating First Nations youth in mining – by Lenny Carpenter (Wawatay News – August 6, 2013)

http://wawataynews.ca/

An online web portal aimed at helping First Nations youth explore the world of mining was launched on July 25.
Learning2mine.ca is an interactive web portal developed by Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education & Training Institute that provides information on the mining industry and careers.

Rosie Mosquito, Oshki’s executive director, said the portal was developed with the upcoming mining opportunities within the Ring of Fire in mind as First Nations stand to benefit from such opportunities.

“With all the mining opportunities that will become available in the north, we want to see First Nations people employed as engineers, environmental technicians, project managers, geophysicists, and in administration,” Mosquito said. “This new portal encourages young people to prepare for a career in the mining industry and most importantly provides them guidance in how to get started.”

Learning2Mine.ca features a mining game called Waaniike, where the player explores the land and discovers resources and artifacts using mining gear and equipment. The game combines traditional knowledge and modern mining practices and aims to build “mining literacy” in the player.

The portal also incorporates videos, job profiles and a career visualizer that includes a questionnaire to match youth with careers in mining.

Cameron Meshake, a youth from Aroland First Nation, said he found the portal to be engaging, and the story from the game Waaniike to be “interesting.”

“I learned a lot about the mining industry and the vast opportunities and the rewards that come with careers in the mining industry and how it would benefit youth from across the province,” Meshake said.

Learning2mine.ca was developed in partnership with Goldcorp, Cambrian College and Algoma Games for Health.
An educational curriculum is being developed in partnership with North Caribou Lake First Natoin, Sioux Hudson Literacy Council, Contact North and Creative eLearning Design.

Learning2mine.ca is funded by the federal government through Human Resources and Skills Development Canada’s Aboriginal Skills and Partnership Fund.