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Province invests $7 million in trades training

The B.C. government has invested, through the Industry Training Authority (ITA), $7 million in Vancouver Community College (VCC) for trades training through to March 31, 2017, to meet industry needs and ensure quality training in high priority trades.

In response to the objectives outlined in B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint and the McDonald Report, the provincial government has worked in partnership with the ITA to begin building a demand-driven trades training system with funding aligned to specific high priority trades.

With the government’s $7-million investment, the ITA will fund 1,870 trades training seats at Vancouver Community College in:

·        Automotive Service Technician

·        Heavy Mechanical

·        Baker

·        Professional Cook

·        Commercial Transport Mechanic

The provincial government also highlighted the innovative partnership that Vancouver Community College has developed with White Spot Restaurants. Each year, White Spot selects cohorts of students from VCC to train at White Spot’s state-of-the-art culinary training facility in Vancouver. This makes White Spot the only hospitality company in the province to be formally accredited to deliver Professional Cook Training 1 and 2. Students in the White Spot Culinary program return to VCC to complete Professional Cook Training 3 and become Red Seal graduates.

 “This arrangement between White Spot, the Vancouver Community College and the Industry Training Authority is an excellent example of how partnering works to deliver apprenticeship training for students for in demand jobs that meet everyone’s needs,” says Dr. Peter Nunoda, president, Vancouver Community College.

The provincial government invests more than $94 million in industry training through the ITA. The ITA leads and co-ordinates British Columbia’s skilled trades system by working with employers, employees, industry, labour, training providers and government to issue credentials, manage apprenticeships, set program standards and increase opportunities in the trades.