The start of a new year marks a fresh beginning full of opportunity. If a new job is on your “to-do” list, consider a future in a rewarding career in the trades.

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.

The College of the Rockies is receiving $843,000 toward the purchase of new training equipment, including two L3 Mobile Truck Driving Training simulators and health care training mannequins.

B.C. public post-secondary institutions will have access to additional supports to address substance use thanks to a $400,000 investment from the Province for a project co-led by the University of Victoria's Centre for Addictions Research (CARBC) and the Canadian Mental Health Association BC Division.

Premier Christy Clark welcomed a new generation of Nicola Valley trades students with the official opening of the new $1.8-million trades training building at the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT).

Eighteen public post-secondary institutions are receiving a total of $6.9 million in one-time funding that will give them an opportunity to plan changes that would be needed if they decide to move to a tuition-based model.

Improvements to upfront, non-repayable grants will support low-income students enrolling in post-secondary adult upgrading courses, including English as a Second Language (ESL).