Gezhtoojig Employment & Training

Indigenous interns graduate from drinking water internship program

Indigenous interns graduate from drinking water internship program

Anishinabek Nation celebrated the graduation of 14 interns from the Georgian Bay Drinking Water Internship Program recently. In association with the Ontario Water First Education & Training Inc. and Waabnoong Bemjiwang Association of First Nations (WBAFN), Gezhtoojig Employment & Training, the paid internship program started in June 2021. It offers great opportunity as it recruits young Indigenous adults to be in the drinking water treatment industry. The program gives students the knowledge and experience to obtain entry-level certifications required to begin careers in water treatment. Through the skills they obtain in this internship program, students become qualified personnel, supporting communities much like our own, on the the unceded territories of the Secwépemc and Ktunaxa peoples and the land chosen as home by the Métis peoples of B.C., in having access to safe, clean drinking water for the foreseeable future.

Next generation of Indigenous water treatment operators ready to support local water quality

Next generation of Indigenous water treatment operators ready to support local water quality

Last week, Waabnoong Bemjiwang Association of First Nations (WBAFN), Gezhtoojig Employment & Training, Anishinabek Nation, and Water First Education & Training Inc. celebrated the graduation of 14 interns from the Georgian Bay Drinking Water Internship Program. This program is a paid internship that recruits young Indigenous adults to the drinking water field, and helps them obtain entry-level certifications required to begin their careers in water treatment. Having qualified, local personnel also supports communities in having access to safe, clean drinking water for the long-term.