The cftpa’s national training/mentorship program is very close to the heart of Kevin DeWalt, who was instrumental in establishing the mentorship committee during his tenure as cftpa chair.

‘It’s a very active part of the cftpa now,’ says DeWalt. ‘It has become a very large component of what we do, and we are considered leaders in the country in many industries in terms of [our] industry-driven mentorship programs.’

DeWalt says being a part of the mentorship committee is, for him, as much fun as it is rewarding.

‘For all of us involved it is great to see young people having a chance to break into our industry from all parts of the country,’ he says.

DeWalt admits the mentorship program is sometimes difficult to coordinate because the money available for the various programs is frequently outstripped by demand. He adds that pairing the right mentor with the right trainee is another very important concern.

‘It’s a matter of advertising and promoting the program and having a database for the country in terms of who is interested in being trained, and then going out to the potential mentors and convincing them to come on board.’

The mentorship program has two components. The first is an international program through the Department of Foreign Affairs and the second is a program set up domestically through Human Resources Development Canada.

The cftpa is in the process of expanding its educational activities to include high schools across the country.

‘The cftpa is involved in a three-year pilot program to implement film, television and new media accredited classes in grades 10, 11 and 12 in secondary schools in Canada,’ explains DeWalt. ‘We just finished the three-year pilot program [in Regina] and are about to roll out the high-school program across Canada.’

According to DeWalt, this new cftpa initiative will be the first accredited high-school curriculum for film, tv and new media in North America. Dustin Dinoff