Fourteen people are receiving both training and work experience for in-demand trade jobs as part of a $104,000 provincially funded, 19-week program at Sprott Shaw College-Abbotsford in British Columbia.
The Trades for Tomorrow program consists of 12 weeks of in-class training, followed by seven weeks of on the job work experience with local employers. Participants will then have career preparation and job search support to help secure work in their chosen trade. The program is expected to wrap up in April 2016.
BC currently has more people leaving the trade workforce than new workers joining. The province expects to need thousands of tradespeople by the year 2024. With programs like Trades for Tomorrow that are part of BC’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint, the province is attempting to fill these necessary job openings.
BACKGROUNDER
BC’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint is re-engineering the province’s education and training systems – from kindergarten through to post-secondary training and beyond. With one million job openings expected in BC by 2022, the Blueprint focuses on shifting toward a data-driven labour market planning model so training dollars and programs are aligned with in-demand jobs, now and in the future.
By connecting British Columbians with on-the-job and classroom training, the Blueprint is designed to ensure they are first in line for those opportunities while making it easier for employers to hire the skilled workers they need, when and where they need them. The BC government continues to invest more than $94 million annually through the Industry Training Authority, which leads and co-ordinates the province’s skilled trades system.
