News from Gloucester County
Crise dans le domaine de l’informatique où sont les femmes?
Thomas Lizotte
Les femmes ne se sont jamais faites aussi discrètes en ce qui a trait aux métiers qui touchent le domaine de l’informatique depuis les vingt dernières années. «On ne parlera bientôt plus de pénurie, mais bien de crise», a certifié Mario Doucet, directeur adjoint par intérim au Collège communautaire de Bathurst.
Sur les trois programmes disponibles qui sont accessibles aux futures carriéristes du multimédia, 57 personnes dont seulement cinq filles suivent les différents cours à cette institution.
Guylaine Leclerc, enseignante en technologie de l’informatique, a assuré que les choses ont grandement changé depuis sa graduation. «Je me rappelle que lorsque j’ai suivi ma formation en informatique, les filles dominaient la place. Nous étions en grande majorité. Les gars passaient souvent devant nos locaux, sachant que la plupart des filles étaient dans les classes d’informatiques», a fait savoir Mme Leclerc.
Que s’est-il passé pour que le vent change de direction ? L’enseignante en informatique a posé l’hypothèse du stéréotype qui introduit les informaticiens et les programmeurs comme étant des «nerds», sans vie sociale et accroc des jeux informatiques, dans un phénomène qui a commencé dans les années 1990.
«Avant cela, l’ordinateur était plus ou moins connu et ne connaissait pas la vogue qu’il connait aujourd’hui», a déduit Mme Leclerc. Il va sans dire que les ordinateurs étaient jadis associés à un travail de bureau - secrétaire, réceptionniste, etc - qui était prisé en majorité par les femmes.
Le domaine n’a jamais été aussi relié et impliqué dans les communications qu’il ne l’est actuellement. L’image de l’intellectuel antisocial derrière son bureau semble bel et bien dépassée. «Tu dois parler à ton client, comprendre ce qu’il veut réellement, faire des recherches auprès de personnes ressources et même présenter des conférences», a affirmé Daniel Comeau, chef de département pour les technologies de l’information au CCNBB. Même commentaire de la part de Valérie Guitard, étudiante en informatique, qui a affirmé que son programme d’étude ne l’aurait réellement pas intéressée si celui-ci n’avait pas impliqué des démarches socialisantes pour percer dans le marché du travail.
English : Between all three programs available for future multimedia career enthusiasts, only five women out of 57 students are taking the course offered by the Bathurst Community College.
Academy of Learning fulfils training need
The Academy of Learning was introduced to Canada in 1987 with a mission to fulfil a need for quality training and lifelong learning.
There are now campuses in both Bathurst and Miramichi. Both campuses function under the idea of identifying and closing the gap between the formal education system of training available and the real life working environment. Their educational goal is to have a system of learning that fulfills the needs of the learner, while meeting the requirements for convenient and effective training.
Courses are offered via a one-onone instruction format and via a classroom with instructor format with a wide variety of courses.
Those courses offered to students at the Academy of Learning include Early Childhood Education, Teacher Assistant, Business and Office Accounting Clerk, Computerized Accounting, Administrative Assistant, Business Administration, PC Support Specialist and Computer Service Technician.
Also offered are a number of courses in the health care services field, such as: Medical Receptionist/Transcription, Pharmacy Technician and Personal Support Worker.
En francais: Un grand nombre de cours sont offerts par les deux campus du Academy of Learning à Bathurst et Miramichi.
NBCC Bathurst gains three accredited courses
The New Brunswick Community College in Bathurst has increased opportunities for students with the recent addition of three accredited programs.
“We were evaluated on different aspects of three of our programs by two different bodies of certification,” said Bathurst NBCC department head Hubert Arseneau.
“They went though all of our curriculums, installations, and safety procedures, including interviews with faculty members, interviews with current students and past students from the private sector.”
Programs in Electronics Technology and Environmental Technology were accredited by the federal Canadian Technology Accreditation Board and the provincial New Brunswick Society of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists.
The Public Health program was accredited by the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors.
En français : Le Collège communautaire du Nouveau- Brunswick, campus de Bathurst, augmente ses opportunités aux étudiants avec l’ajout récent de trois programmes accrédités.
Call centre shuts down due to lack of employees
The Atelka call centre in Bathurst closed at the end of June due to a lack of employees.
Last October, the company announced it was opening in the city with the aim of hiring 200 employees. Only about 65 workers could be found and this was not enough to fill Atelka’s telecommunications contract.
“We were not able to hire enough employees to run the centre properly,” said Maryse Ricard, director of communications and marketing for Atelka.
En français : Une pénurie de main-d’oeuvre a été à l’origine de la fermeture du centre d’appels d’Atelka à Bathurst à la fin de juin.
Xstrata Zinc donates $160,000 to schools to buy buses
Xstrata Zinc have donated $160,000 to École Secondaire Népisiguit and Bathurst High School so they can each purchase a 20-passenger bus to help transport their students to athletic events and extracurricular activities throughout the province.
The donation from Xstrata, a mining company which operates Brunswick Mine near Bathurst and the smelter in Belledune, will help each school replace the passenger vans previously used to transport students to school-sponsored events.
Peter Hancock, smelter general manager, said the donations continue a 40- year tradition by the mine and smelter of giving back to the community.
En français: Un don de 160 000 $ a été effectué par Xstrata Zinc aux écoles secondaires de Népisiguit et Bathurst envers l’achat d’un autobus de 20 passagers pour transporter les élèves aux événements et activités sportives et para-scolaires.
Region launches new guide for tourists
An official launch of the Chaleur region’s new tourism guide took place at scenic Atlas Park in Pointe-Verte..
It’s available at local hotels and restaurants and was distributed at tourism trade shows in Ottawa, Quebec City and Halifax.
This is the second year for the guide, a glossy 36 page brochure called Acadie- Bathurst: A Truly Warm Experience. It highlights attractions like Youghall Beach, Pabineau Falls and the Hospitality Days summer festival.
En français: Le lancement officiel du nouveau guide touristique de la région de Chaleur s’est déroulé au parc Atlas de Pointe-Verte.
Mayor sought ideas for mill at Swedish conference
Bathurst’s mayor believes ideas from the World Bio-Energy conference in Jonkoping, Sweden could be turned into reality for the former Smurfit-Stone paper mill in Bathurst.
“We still have all those trees to harvest and what are we going to do with them? If we can’t make paper, maybe we can make energy, and make energy for our own people,” said Stephen Brunet.
Mayor Stephen Brunet said with the federal and provincial governments offering infrastructure money for communities affected by mill closures, such as Dalhousie and Bathurst, an avenue could be opened for the former cinemas property.
En français: Le maire de Bathurst, Stephen Brunet, s’est rendu en Suède en mai dernier afin de se renseigner davantage relativement aux alternatifs aux carburants.
Students held own at business competition
Two Bathurst High School students from Pabineau First Nation fared well at a national business competition in Saskatchewan Stephanie Peter-Paul and Michelle Kelly attended the eighth annual BDC E-Spirit Aboriginal Youth Business Plan Competition, held in Regina from May 12 to 14.The awards are presented each year to New Brunswick’s most outstanding information technology companies and individuals.
Approximately 60 First Nation teams from across Canada participated, comprised of one to six aboriginal students from Grades 10 through 12.
Stephanie and Michelle won first place for Oral Presentation, first place for Best Logo, first place for Best Trade Show Display, and Gold Prize (first place) for their business plan.
For their Gold Prize, both Stephanie and Michelle received a $2,500 award incentive.
En français: Deux élèves de la Première Nation Pabineau, qui fréquentent l’école secondaire de Bathurst, ont remporté les honneurs lors d’une compétition nationale en affaires tenue au Saskatchewan.
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