Northern youth learn skilled trades and receive career coaching at Ottawa Campus

Posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2025

Students wear aprons and chef hands in a professional kitchen, holding cookies, salsa and guacamole.

Students showcase their culinary creations, including cookies, guacamole and Pico de Gallo. (DJ Porter/NYA)

Participants from the Northern Youth Abroad (NYA) Next program have returned to Algonquin College to learn life skills and receive individual career coaching. Open to Nunavut and the Northwest Territories youth aged 16-22, NYA Next students reside at the Ottawa Campus for several weeks in July while taking classes in the applied trades and live as a post-secondary student. The twenty-three students in this year’s cohort will leave the program with high school credits, career preparedness and volunteer experience.

NYA Next participants gain valuable experience in constructions skills and culinary arts, where they learn to construct dog houses and mix recipes for cookies, guacamole and Pico de Gallo. New this year is the addition of welding, automotive, music, horticulture and finance classes.

A student welding while an instructor watches nearby

An NYA Next participant practices welding under the watchful eye of an instructor. (DJ Porter/NYA)

Students stand beside plant pots in a garden.

Participants transplant elephant ears (and dodge worms!) at the Horticulture Gardens.

Two students and an instructor look at a car on an auto lift.

Automotive class is a new addition to the NYA Next program. (DJ Porter/NYA)

More information about the NYA Next program can be found on the NYA website.