By Don McRae
Minister of Education
Nov. 8, 2012

VICTORIA - This spring, 13 carpentry students from two southern Vancouver Island high schools got a chance to put their trades training to the test in Sooke. They built an entire three-bedroom house from the ground up, completing everything from concrete foundations, to the framing and roof trusses to lock-up and a finished home.

Throughout British Columbia there are other excellent examples of students getting a head start on well-paying, skilled trades employment thanks to innovative educational and job-skills training programs. In fact, the opportunities for young people to pursue trades careers in B.C. rarely have been better and the need is great.

By 2020, it is projected there will be more than a million job openings in B.C., with nearly half of those jobs requiring skilled workers. Labour shortages in the trades sector are expected as early as 2016.

We want to make sure more of our students can take advantage of the many career opportunities and well-paying jobs that will result from this growing demand. This is a key element of our government's Skills and Training Plan, and a skilled workforce is one of the foundations of the BC Jobs Plan. That's why we're taking steps in our K-12 educational system to increase interest and participation in programs leading to skilled trades jobs.

We have a strong base on which to build and expand student involvement in trades training. For example, the Ministry of Education and school districts, together with the Industry Training Authority (ITA), offer several programs aimed at helping students prepare for future trades careers.

Through the Secondary School Apprenticeship program (SSA), students can begin the work-based training component of an apprenticeship program while still in high school. Students earn while they learn, getting dual credits toward both their high school diploma and apprenticeship, as well as a pay cheque for their on-the-job training.

Another program, ACE-IT, or Accelerated Credit Enrolment in Industry Training provides students with both graduation credits and credit toward the first level of their apprenticeship technical training.

Programs are developed as partnerships among school districts, employers and training providers. ACE-IT runs the trades spectrum from sheet metal to automotive, chef training to marine trades and many more. Participation in these two ITA youth programs has increased from 861 participants in 2004 to 4,200 as of this September.

Let's look at one of the many success stories resulting from these programs. In 2007, Mike Draginda was an 18-year old student in the early phase of a carpentry apprenticeship that began in Grade 12. Today, thanks in part to the ACE-IT and SSA high school programs, Mike is working as a lead carpenter on a large Vancouver Island condominium project. He's also started his own construction firm for weekend and evening work.

The Youth Exploring Skills to Industry Training (YES 2 IT) is another ITA and Ministry of Education initiative that provides trades career exploration opportunities for students in grades 6 to 9. Trades explored include everything from carpentry, welding and electrical trades, to hairstyling, cooking and auto mechanics, to name just a few. Next year, it will be expanded to include grades 5 to 10.

In the coming years, our goal is to increase the number of graduates going directly from high school to a trades or technical program by 50 per cent. To achieve this, we will be expanding the opportunities for students to begin apprenticeship and technical training programs before high school graduation. We'll also be working with school districts to expand partnerships with industry and post-secondary institutions.

To further raise the profile of trades training opportunities, the B.C. government recently announced an investment of $675,000 to support the Discover Trades program. The program is led by a group of 14 public post-secondary institutions that promote trades training for young people in B.C. A Discover Trades BC website - http://www.discovertradesbc.ca - has been launched that includes student testimonials and has workbooks and resources for primary, middle and secondary teachers to use in getting more students excited about trades work.

A skilled workforce is the foundation of a strong and resilient economy. With your participation we can ensure our K-12 school programs will play an ever-increasing role in preparing students for future trades careers while helping to build a stronger, more prosperous British Columbia.

We're interested in hearing your ideas about what works well and what could be improved to ensure we are training young people so they are first in line for B.C. jobs. To comment or make a suggestion, please visit: http://www.bcjobsplan.ca/