Dumont Technical Institute

The Dumont Technical Institute (DTI), the Gabriel Dumont Institute (GDI)'s largest program, began operations in 1992 in order to serve the basic Education, upgrading, technical, and vocational training needs of Saskatchewan's Métis. DTI is affiliated with the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (Siast), and delivers programs in partnership with the Métis Employment and Training of Saskatchewan Inc., Human Resources Development Canada (through the “PATHWAYS” program), Saskatchewan's Provincial Training Allowance program, the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies, and the province's regional colleges. DTI's administration is based in Saskatoon, but its programming is province-wide. DTI's origins can be traced back to 1983 with the creation of the Saskatchewan Training for Employment Program or STEP, which was a partnership between GDI, Employment and Immigration Canada, and the provincial Department of Advanced Education and Manpower. Through STEP, GDI offered SIAST-accredited human resource development, early childhood development, business administration, electronics, and mechanics programs, with counseling and Native Studies components. In 1987, GDI and SIAST signed an agreement creating the Native Services Branch, which provided counseling services to SIAST's Aboriginal students. Through the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Native Services Branch delivered a variety of courses tailored to meet the socioeconomic and cultural needs of the province's Aboriginal population. However, by the early 1990s the increasing demand for basic education as well as vocational and skills training delivery within the Métis community necessitated the creation of an independent Métis technical institution. As a result DTI signed in 1994 a formal affiliation agreement with SIAST.

Darren R. Préfontaine