Kane Slavuta, from Peguis First Nation, had a passion for Robotics and Computer Science. Kane would not have grown into an accomplished electrician had he not started his career with FPDI as a Robotics instructor. Being able to teach community youth and expose them to technology was his dream and when he saw an opportunity with FPDI, he was thrilled and wanted to be a part of it.
Kane had the motivation to teach and was willing to travel to various First Nation communities to impart his knowledge and skills. When he was instructing he saw tremendous potential in the students and made sure they had all the guidance they needed apart from access to resources.
After successfully completing his Robotics term, Kane continued to pursue his passion for Robotics and joined Cognation Robotics as a developer while continuing to run his business in computer programming on the side. He decided to pursue an electrical career that would complement his technical knowledge. FPDI was recruiting for an electrical program and Kane applied. “FPDI supported me with program funding and it was a very friendly environment where I was able to build trust and meaningful relationships,” says Kane.
After he graduated from the Electrical program, Kane secured a contract doing electrical work at the Roquette Pea Plant in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. “We weren’t even part of the union yet but due to the high demand, they sent us. We had to write our final exams during weekends,” says Kane.
The Robotics program also saw a long-term connection between two Robotics instructors. Kane and Tia came together through the Robotics program and today they are happily married with Tia expecting soon!