Nikki Ylioja has had two and a half months to reflect on the ways her training at Lakeland College has prepared her to get the job done.

She completed the​ emergency services technology (EST) program in November and then headed out on practicum at Suncor in Fort McMurray, which wrapped up at the end of January. Ylioja has nothing but positive things to say about the experience and how Lakeland prepared her for it, as she looks forward to her future career on the front lines of emergency services.

“I enjoyed my practicum so much,” she says. “At Suncor, they treat you so well. They didn't treat me like a student, they treated me like an employee.”

As a member of the crew, Ylioja responded to a number of fire and medical incidents, and the adrenaline of experiencing them outside of the carefully controlled classroom environment was exciting.

“Lakeland did a really good job of preparing us,” says Ylioja, who completed a paramedic program in Saskatchewan before enrolling at Lakeland. “Especially the instructors. They're so knowledgeable about everything and taught us really well. We are prepared for anything.”

Ylioja decided to enrol in Lakeland's EST program after learning about it while completing her previous paramedic program.

“I chose Lakeland because I heard it was the best in Canada,” she explains. “The program definitely lived up to my expectations. It's incredible.”

While at Lakeland, Ylioja says the live fire exercises helped prepare her for working in the field.

“Our class did an industrial night burn and a mass casualty incident at night with confined space and rope rescue,” she says.

“That sort of hands-on experience definitely helped me when I got out to Suncor. When an incident started in the afternoon but took 15 hours to put out, we were there into the night and I was still able to do everything I had to do. It felt really good - definitely a lot of adrenaline.”

Getting industry experience is a critical component of the EST program, she says.

“Now, going into a job with the experience I've had at Suncor, I'll be so much more comfortable. I've been in a fire hall as part of a crew. I've done on-call work, I've done the tasks and I've been part of the team. I've already had that experience, so I won't be as nervous.”