If you find yourself scratching your head for last-minute gift ideas this holiday season, consider a gift with a social impact.

Government is investing more than $630,000 to find new ways for refugees and immigrants to join British Columbia’s growing economy.

Two new Job Creation Partnerships with the Gabriola Arts Council will provide skills training and paid work experience to four Gabriola Island residents, resulting in a year’s worth of arts and culture programming and a renovated community cultural centre.

A government-funded skills training program is giving eight people real-world work experience and training in the public works sector to help them find full-time employment and join in on British Columbia’s growing economy.

A Community and Employer Partnerships program with a successful history of helping unemployed individuals find high-paying careers as retail automotive sales professionals is being funded again in the Lower Mainland.