The Government of British Columbia and BC Ferries are committing to a seasonal direct ferry service between Port Hardy and Bella Coola to support Aboriginal tourism and the mid-coast economy.

Improving economic outcomes and business development opportunities in First Nations communities is at the heart of a provincial partnership with the B.C. Assembly of First Nations (BCAFN).

When Graeme, a member of the Gitxsan Nation, was younger, he struggled in high school and didn’t believe he’d ever make it to university. His family and aunt, Shirley Joseph, believed otherwise. She was the Aboriginal Coordinator for Langara at the time, and encouraged him to enroll at Vancouver Community College and then Langara to begin his post-secondary studies.

Capilano University (Cap U) will provide Aboriginal students with tangible skills for teaching language in communities through a language and culture program. Vancouver Community College (VCC) will provide the gateway to careers program to help Aboriginal students develop, set and reach educational and career goals.

This September, British Columbia will celebrate inclusive employers and the contributions of people with disabilities in the workplace with the third-annual Disability Employment Month.

Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour Shirley Bond and Parliamentary Secretary Greg Kyllo gave an update on British Columbia’s economic progress since the BC Jobs Plan release in 2011 and a preview of where the jobs plan is headed in the five-year update later this fall.

The families of more than 32,000 B.C. children born in 2007 or later have taken up the opportunity to kick-start their education savings during the first year of the $1,200 British Columbia Training and Education Savings Grant (BCTESG).