Students at Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT) will benefit from $100,000 in funding toward the purchase of new industry-standard trades equipment, including portable welding booths that will enable students to prepare for jobs in the trades.

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.

Students in B.C. have even more to look forward to this back-to-school season as free open textbooks hit up to $2 million in overall student savings.

Melina Laboucan, a 33-year-old member of the Lubicon Cree First Nation, came to UVic’s Indigenous Governance (IGov) master’s program in 2013 with a clear purpose: to develop a solar energy project plan that would tackle Indigenous and environmental issues in her home town of Little Buffalo, Alberta.