Regional employment statistics:

• 110,320 job openings are expected in the Thompson-Okanagan region to 2020; nearly 28% of these (30,740) are expected to be newly created jobs.

• The year-to-date unemployment rate of 6.9% (as of February 2013) is lower than the same time last year at 8.6%.

Region-specific activities under the BC Jobs Plan include:

In September 2012, New Gold opened the New Afton Mine. The underground gold, copper and silver mine employed over 400 people when opened, including more than 100 B.C. Mine Training Association candidates. The Province has also approved a major expansion of the Highland Valley Copper Mine near Ashcroft.

Post secondary institutions in the Thompson-Okanagan continue to make advances in international education:

• In fall 2011, Thompson Rivers University (TRU) opened the first-ever TRU World office in Vancouver. This office allows TRU to strengthen services for international students, agents and partner schools in the Lower Mainland.
• In November 2011, TRU opened an office in Bangalore and launched an integrated social media campaign for Indian students.
• In May 2012, TRU and officials from the National Taichung University of Education (NTCU) in Taiwan signed an agreement to explore collaborative opportunities in education and arts programs, as well as joint research initiatives between the two universities. The new agreement with NTCU is TRU's first such partnership with a university in Taiwan.

In June 2012, a student exchange agreement was signed between UBC Okanagan and the University of York in the U.K.  While the exchange program is open to all areas, there is special interest in pursuing an exchange to allow third-year students from UBC's Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies to study at York's Department of Theatre, Film and Television.
In September 2012, the Province provided $28 million to Okanagan College to expand and renovate existing trades training facilities at the Kelowna Campus.

The Province has also provided Okanagan College with $867,000 to purchase new skills training equipment and a further $1.39 million to Thompson Rivers University to put new tools in the hands of students.

In the K-12 system, the Province recently announced that it will contribute $6.3 million in partnership funding towards a new NorKam Secondary Trades and Technology Centre of Excellence in Kamloops.

A series of workshops for local leaders has been developed to provide participants with training related to a full range of economic development activities in their communities, including attracting investment and supporting new and existing ventures.

• The workshops are designed for elected local government and First Nation officials and their staff.
• A local leaders workshop, facilitated by the Economic Development Association of B.C., was held in Kamloops in February of 2013; a Penticton workshop is scheduled for late April.
  

A network of seven education marketing managers are now in place in British Columbia's trade and investment offices in China, India, Korea, and Japan, with additional positions engaged on the international education file in B.C.'s United States and European Union offices.

• This network supports the international education sector by promoting B.C.'s competitive advantages to potential students, identifying and co-ordinating partnerships between B.C. institutions and international organizations, and participating in missions and trade shows.
• The education marketing managers visited B.C. educational institutions throughout the province this spring as part of an orientation tour. Co-ordinated by the British Columbia Council for International Education, the week-long mission included school visits and roundtables involving Okanagan College, UBC Okanagan, Thompson Rivers University, and Kelowna, Vernon and Kamloops school districts.

Contact:

Media Relations
Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training
250 387-2799