Image Credit: Flickr / Province of B.C.

By Minister of State for Workforce Development Andrew Mercier

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OUR GOVERNMENT KNOWS that when you invest in people, you build a stronger economy for everyone. Over the next ten years, British Columbia is expecting one million job openings across our province and 80 per cent of those jobs will require a form of post-secondary education or training.

So how do we make sure that people in B.C. are ready for the opportunities of tomorrow? It starts with investing and supporting British Columbians right now. Last week, we announced the Future Ready Action Plan which will make training and education more accessible, affordable and relevant for people.

The plan invests $480 million to accelerate talent development and skills training that will benefit workers, students and businesses throughout the province. The goal is to make it easier, quicker and cheaper to get the training and skills you need to work an in-demand job.

One highlight of the plan is the new Future Skills Grant. Beginning this fall, the grant will give British Columbians up to $3,500 to cover the cost of tuition for short-term skills training. This will help remove financial barriers for people to retrain or upgrade their skills in one of 400 different programs. These programs provide the skills needed for the most in-demand jobs, covering everything from cybersecurity to medical office administration, to hospitality and so much more.

These investments are critical and differ greatly from the old BC United government. The old government wasn’t interested in supporting skilled workers. They closed their regional trade’s offices, laid off all their apprenticeship advisors and tore up red seal certification. These choices led to a dramatic decline in apprenticeship completions and contributed greatly to the skills gap we see today.

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Since 2017, our government has been taking action to undo the damage these choices cost people.

We are doing things differently by supporting people pursuing a career in the trades by bringing back skilled trades certification and by hiring new apprenticeship advisors. We’re investing heavily in training the next generation of skilled workers with new training seats, programs and a $137 million, state-of-the-art trades training facility at BCIT that will benefit more than 12,000 students per year.

But we also know that we have more to do. To ensure that we have enough skilled workers over the next decade, we are making it easier for people moving to B.C. to find work in the professions they have trained for.

Currently, we’re conducting broad engagement on credential recognition, with regulatory authorities, organizations that serve newcomers to Canada, and new British Columbians themselves.

Our province is only as resilient as its people and we want everyone in B.C. to be able to succeed and build a good life for themselves and their families. To make that happen, we’re working hard to equip people with the knowledge, skills and supports they need to build a cleaner and more equal British Columbia for everyone.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.