The Province is investing in community-based programs to help adult learners break barriers they face to building their future.

It was a pressing priority for Advanced Education, Skills and Training Minister Melanie Mark to get out early in her mandate and engage with students, faculty and staff at all 25 public post-secondary institutions in British Columbia.

Canadians will be better equipped for the well-paying, middle-class jobs of today and tomorrow as a result of a $30-million investment in a new Industrial Training and Technology Centre at Thompson Rivers University.

Darrick Louie, originally from Cortes Island, was working as a construction labourer at jobsites throughout British Columbia when he made the decision to return to school, “Employers kept asking me if I had my ticket. I made the decision to go and get it.”

Programs to train cooks, chefs and bakers are now eligible under the B.C. Access Grant for Labour Market Priorities.

Northwest Community College (NWCC) is receiving $269,850 toward the purchase of new training equipment that will prepare health-care and trades students with the skills needed to succeed in the workforce.

For the first time on a British Columbia public post-secondary campus, work camp-style housing will be used to help meet the growing demand for student residences, providing valuable learning opportunities at the same time.

The University of British Columbia (UBC) Board of Governors and Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 116 have ratified an agreement negotiated under the Economic Stability Mandate.