PRINCE GEORGE – Trades students at the College of New Caledonia (CNC) will benefit from provincial funding of $4.3 million for skills training in high-priority trades seats.
The investment, through the Industry Training Authority (ITA), will fund 1,712 seats at CNC through to March 31, 2017, in various trades, including welding, electrical, millwright, carpentry and heavy mechanical group trades.
“Our investments through the Skills for Jobs Blueprint target high-priority trades so we have the workforce necessary for our growing economy and the one million job openings we anticipate in B.C. by 2024,” says Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour. “By working with our training providers like the College of New Caledonia, we are giving British Columbians the skills they need for the in-demand jobs of the future.”
The funding is part of the ITA’s annual allocation to B.C. post-secondary institutions and training providers to run various training programs throughout the province.
In response to the objectives outlined in B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint and the McDonald Report, the B.C. 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.
The provincial government invests more than $94 million annually 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.
