Minister of State for Tourism and Small Business Naomi Yamamoto released the following statement to proclaim Co-op Week in British Columbia (Oct. 13-19, 2013)

Twenty-one members of the Korean Forest Service will arrive in Salmon Arm on Oct. 2 to learn wildfire investigation techniques from B.C.'s expert firefighters.

Thirty eight First Nations individuals will receive forestry-specific training and work experience through a $500,000 Labour Market Sector Solutions (LMSS) partnership between the B.C. government, the First Nations Forestry Council and industry partners.

The B.C. government is providing $900,000 for graduate student scholarships at the province's four research-intensive universities.

The Province of B.C. is investing $4,990,536 to extend a successful youth employment program to March 31, 2014, which will allow an additional 1,153 participants to take part in the program.

Premier Christy Clark announced that students throughout B.C. will have increased access to regional training opportunities as a result of $7 million in one-time funding to 19 post-secondary institutions.

Almost $11 million in investments is supporting two programs for Aboriginal learners in British Columbia.

More than 1,700 students throughout British Columbia will get skills training thanks to $10 million provided to 16 B.C. public post-secondary institutions in April 2012 to prepare workers for jobs in their regions.