Online distance learning courses are preparing Indigenous housing professionals to move residential projects forward in their Northern Ontario communities.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) announced two training modules on July 9 in conjunction with Wahsa Distance Education Centre, and the Together Design Lab and Faculty of Community Services at Toronto Metropolitan University.
They include Introduction to Construction Project Management for Housing in NAN Communities and Introduction to Tendering and Procurement for Housing in NAN Communities.
Now available on the NAN Housing Strategy website, they’re designed to address a lack of housing capacity development and training opportunities in NAN communities.
“By equipping learners with the foundational knowledge required to lead and manage housing construction projects across NAN Territory, the course intends to reduce the reliance on external labour to ensure that housing is built by First Nations, for First Nations,” the partners say in a news release.
Courses include insights from housing experts with case studies relevant to NAN communities, such as the impact of winter road access and climate change on scheduling and availability of materials.
“These case studies provide grounded examples to help learners better understand the construction process, tendering and procurement process, and begin to apply skills learned such as risk assessment, monitoring and evaluating contracts to their own practice and communities,” the release says.
Funding for course development came from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's Housing Supply Challenge.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation represents 49 First Nation communities in James Bay Treaty No. 9 and Ontario portions of Treaty No. 5, an area covering two-thirds of the province of Ontario.
