BC – Forestry is one of B.C.’s key economic sectors and today, the Province and the BC First Nations Forestry Council (BCFNFC) have announced a new labour market partnership project.
This new partnership project sets the stage for helping Aboriginal groups, forest industry companies and skills and training services providers prepare and understand forestry-related, labour opportunities at the community or territorial level.
The B.C. government has provided more than $80,000, through the Sector Labour Market Partnership Program, to the BCFNFC to lead the First Nations Regional Forestry Opportunity Studies Engagement project. The goal of this project is to bring together Aboriginal communities, forestry sector employers and other partners including the Aboriginal Skills Employment Training Strategy, so they can identify the forestry labour demands and opportunities in various B.C. regions. The project is expected to finish in January 2017.
It is the first phase of a broader initiative to help ensure that Aboriginal Peoples in B.C. have the training and support they need for forestry sector jobs, including forestry and logging, silviculture, pulp and paper and solid wood. This project also supports the work that BCFNFC has been doing to help several First Nations identify their unique role in the forestry workforce in their communities.
The First Nations Regional Forestry Opportunity Studies Engagement project is an example of the Province’s commitments to work with Aboriginal Peoples and First Nations, as mentioned in the BC Jobs Plan and B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint.
The Sector Labour Market Partnerships Program is funded through the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Development Agreement. The program helps employers understand and respond to changing labour market demands, and ensures that training and education programs in B.C. are aligned with industry’s labour-market needs and priorities.
