My name is Wes Stevenson and I'm the Vice President of Administration for the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College. Basically, I'm responsible for the non-academic area of the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College, meaning areas like Human Resources, Finance, Public Affairs, Computer Services - the whole non-academic side.

[Job Qualifications:]

I started my first position in the area of management with the City of Regina - probably in 1984. Prior to that there was a series of different jobs that I had been in, but that was the first real management position I had. I went on through the City Manager's office and ended up being the Manager of Facilities for the City of Regina. Again, Management and Administration were major portions of that position and I think it was those two areas with the City of Regina that allowed me to gain the experience in the area of management that brought me to this job.

[Decision To Enter This Occupations:]

Earlier in my career and in my life, I had gone through a series of different jobs where the lack of experience, education and probably my own social abilities didn't allow me to have the time to really consider a career path as such. I was just basically trying to make a living.

It wasn't until I got my first taste of management that I really realized that management (working with people, being in positions where decision-making is important and a part of the responsibilities) that I started really thinking that there has to be a path here that would lead to bigger and better things. And the Corporate Ladder, I guess, became something that was on my mind at that time.

[Personal Characteristics & Attitudes:]

It wasn't until my first taste of management that I really started to think about what it takes to be a good manager and what would it take to advance in my career as a Manager or an Administrator. Since then, I think the common threads would be specifically dealing on a daily basis with other people. Leading people, making decisions - I think those would be the common threads in the jobs that I've had since then in the area of administration.

For all the supervisor type of classes and courses that I've taken over the years, the one thing that is common, again a common thread, is that you have to treat others like you want to be treated. And I'm fairly democratic in the way I go about my own business and deal with the people that I work with. I believe in empowerment through delegation and believing in the staff that I work with.

I guess over the last few years the major thing that I look for (because I'm First Nations) is I had a strong commitment to my people and felt that I could contribute somehow. I look for those areas where I could personally contribute and bring some skills that I had learned along the way to a job that would allow me that ability to contribute.

[Change and Adaptability:]

Being adaptable to change throughout my career has probably been one of the more critical areas. Maybe I should have said that earlier, but there's so much change happening in the work force and in each specific field - there are tremendous changes. In education we're constantly changing in terms of the financial picture. We're changing in the methods of delivery of education. Right now we're looking at the area of distance education and Internet delivery and using new information technology to deliver our classes off campus. The differences in expectations amongst employees change as the quality of life changes as well. If I couldn't keep up with changes (and I hope I always will be change-oriented) that would be the time when I would be ready to retire.

[Attitude & Positive Behaviour:]

I'd like to think that I had a strong sense of personal integrity; I was fair; I was people-oriented and I was approachable by the employees that I work with and also respectful which is a very strong and important part of First Nation's ways of dealing with each other. I hope along the way that I would never lose my humility and that I will never forget the roots that I came from (which were poverty-type of things).

[Teamwork Skills:]

Team skills - especially in this current position right now - are critical to our success. One person can't do all the work. It takes a team effort in all the areas that I work with right now. I'll require a team-oriented approach to get the job done.

[Skills & Ongoing Training:]

The Saskatchewan Indian Federated College, right now (in the last four years that I've been with it in this position) has seen so much potential. We've advanced so far, and yet there's always those days where we think that we've been kicked and we've taken a gigantic step backwards. It's on those days where we have to remain positive.

I don't think I'd be here if I didn't have the people skills - and I did have experience and training. It takes a lot of interpersonal skills to be able to deal with such a diverse segment of our population (both Indian and Non-Indian). Without those people skills (that I hope I have) I wouldn't be here in this job - or if I was, I wouldn't be contributing as much as I could possibly contribute.

I'm very cognisant of the fact that I need to keep up with the times. I need to continue to change and adapt and to improve my own leadership and technical abilities. So I take the opportunity whenever I can to upgrade myself in the areas of say finance, computer services, human resource management and facilities management. So it's an ongoing process that I see in a career. If we're going to be successful, we have to take the time to step back, take advantage of those technical and training opportunities and to continue to improve ourselves along the way.

[Advice For Someone Entering This Field Of Work:]

Follow your heart. I think that whatever you decide on in the future for yourself you have to have a passion for that area of work. I f you don't have passion you're not going to give a hundred percent of yourself. That’s fairly broad in saying that but it's, I guess, all that I could say at this point is "Follow your heart, go where you can put your whole life into your work."