The B.C. government has created over 3,000 seats for skills training in colleges and universities throughout the province with an $18.7-million investment.

Several media reports in recent days have focused on temporary foreign workers hired to do work for Canada Dehua, a company that is undertaking coal exploration activities at two sites in northeastern British Columbia. The following facts have been absent from much of this reporting:

A multi-storey wood building is closer to becoming a reality, as three qualified teams have been shortlisted to participate in the Request for Proposals (RFP) phase of the competition to design and build the Wood Innovation and Design Centre (WIDC).

Led by a dramatic gain in shipments to China and other key markets targeted in Canada Starts Here: The BC Jobs Plan, British Columbia's export totals jumped over 10 per cent this April compared to the same month in 2011.

More British Columbians benefited from jobs in April, as B.C.'s unemployment rate dropped to 6.2 per cent from seven per cent in March, and gained 19,700 jobs - 16,700 of which are full time positions.

Thirty people in Northern British Columbia have begun a five-week training program to learn the skills necessary to work as log or chip truck drivers and heavy equipment operators (HEO) in the forestry industry.

The Wood Innovation and Design Centre (WIDC) in Prince George is one step closer to construction today with the release of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to design and construct the building.