The Nakusp Medieval Society is one of several groups to receive funding through the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation’s Jobs Creations Program (JCP).
They have received $31,465 to provide three people from the area with 23 weeks of work experience and skills enhancement. Participants will learn about event planning and production, including administration, marketing and project management. They will also complete a certification program to increase their skills in graphic design.
“What we did this year, because we have a marketing focus for our JCP, is they were enrolled in a three day Photoshop and InDesign course at Selkirk College, with Lee Orr as their instructor,” said Daniel Abraham, president of the Nakusp Medieval Society. “They became familiar with the software, and they’re utilizing their new skill set in designing our program, our cards, and all of our advertising materials.”
The funding given to the society covers the wages of the three participants while they’re working with the society, and also covers the equipment they will need to do their job.
One of the three people hired is Christoph Welkerling. He heard about the opportunity from the employment office in Nakusp.
“I’m into painting and drawing, and there was an opportunity to learn about stuff about Photoshop and things like that, so I kind of jumped on that.” he said.
The three employees will be working on the administrative side of the Medieval Society. This means they will be doing graphic design, marketing, promotional product layout, and social media marketing among many other things.
The festival, which runs from July 23-24 this year, attracted more than 1,800 participants last year and provided important economic impacts for the community and the region, which is increasingly focused on tourism as a key sector.
While the festival itself is in July, the three employees will be with the Medieval Society until August, during which time they will follow up with vendors and fullfil the grant requirements of submitting year-end reports.
Welkerling thinks having job opportunities like this are important, especially if it gives you the chance to try something different.
“I’ve been guiding pretty much for the last five years in adventure tourism, so I’d like to get into more of the arts side of my career path.”