As part of 'Canada Starts Here: The B.C. Jobs Plan', to be released Thursday, Premier Christy Clark announced key steps to increase the number of post-secondary students from other countries studying in B.C.

She also announced how the Province will work with partners to ensure education and training are offered to British Columbians so they can work in the regions where they live and study.

"International students who study in B.C. create thousands of jobs and bring millions of dollars into local economies," said Clark. "Our universities are job creators. We are setting clear targets to dramatically increase the number of international students coming to B.C. These students will also help build strong relationships between B.C., Canada and the rest of the world."

Under the Jobs Plan, the Province is setting a goal of increasing the number of international students by 50 per cent over four years. International students in B.C. currently generate 22,000 jobs and bring an estimated $1.25 billion into the provincial economy. Each 10 per cent increase translates into an estimated 1,800 new jobs and a $100-million boost to the provincial GDP.

To achieve this goal the Province will:

• Create an international education council to help build strong relationships in both existing and emerging economies, like China, India, Brazil and Saudi Arabia.
• Leverage B.C.'s trade offices to help connect international students to B.C.'s educational opportunities.
• Work with communities to prepare them to welcome students from abroad.
• Strengthen the Province's Education Quality Assurance.
• Send more B.C. students overseas to prepare them to work in a global economy.

"Our educational institutions are renowned for their quality, which is what drives nearly 94,000 students a year to B.C. to further their education," said Advanced Education Minister Naomi Yamamoto. "We are currently engaging with institutions and communities on a more targeted, co-ordinated and strategic approach that takes advantage of the growth opportunities and maximizes the economic, social and cultural benefits for B.C. communities to remain successful in what is a hugely competitive environment."

"As a university with nearly two decades' experience, and a student population that reaches every corner of the globe, we know how important having solid international relationships are to building a culturally diverse and stimulating educational experience for all our students," said Alan Shaver, president of Thompson Rivers University. "It's encouraging the Province is taking a leadership role on international education - a strong partnership going forward that works towards top-quality education and good international relationships will position B.C.'s universities and colleges well in an increasingly competitive world."

"TRU and the community of Kamloops have worked together to build a Canadian success story in International Education," said Environment Minister and Kamloops-North Thompson MLA, Terry Lake. "As mayor, I travelled to China on a number of occasions on behalf of TRU and they have been extremely successful, developing relationships with many institutions in close to 100 countries."

"The lessons learned from TRU's success will be valuable as the Province seeks to grow our international education programs," said Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Kevin Krueger. "We've all seen the benefits of international education here in Kamloops and this co-ordinated strategy will help us meet the labour demands ahead and help grow our economy."

A full International Education Strategy will be released later this year.

Under the B.C. Jobs Plan, the Province is also taking a multi-pronged approach to ensure funds are spent so that British Columbians get the education and skills training they need to allow them to work and prosper in their home communities. Currently, post-secondary education funding amounts to nearly $2 billion annually and skills development/ job training receives over $500 million annually.

"Under the B.C. Jobs Plan, the Province will ensure funds being spent annually on labour market and training programs are better targeted to meeting regional and industry needs and that Aboriginal people, the fastest-growing demographic in B.C., will be an important part of our future economic planning," said Clark. "This is part of our commitment to ensure British Columbians are able to train and work in the communities where they live."

The Province will:

• Create Regional Workforce Tables as a new platform for educators, industry, employers, local chambers of commerce, First Nations, labour and others to come together to plan how best to align training programs to meet regional needs. Their input will inform how the Province delivers regionally based skills development programs, including $15 million to further support regional post-secondary institutions in addressing local labour needs.
• Work in partnership with industry to ensure job demands in key sectors are met - in areas such as forestry, mining, tourism, technology, transportation, agri-foods, services and others. Up to $6 million will help sectors identify their skills and workforce needs.
• Hold a major conference in the coming months to bring together a wide range of stakeholders to explore ways to meet industry apprenticeship needs.

B.C. is poised to attract new investment into our economy, creating and protecting jobs for families in every region. This is at the heart of 'Canada Starts Here: The B.C. Jobs Plan'. The plan has three pillars to help us deal with today's economic uncertainty and emerge from it stronger than ever:

• Expanding markets for B.C. products and services, particularly in Asia.
• Strengthening our infrastructure to get our goods to market.
• Working with employers and communities to enable job creation across B.C.

To accelerate growth, the B.C. Jobs Plan also leverages the strengths of our most competitive sectors - resource, knowledge and infrastructure - to bring new dollars into our economy from our most important trading partners.

Clark will announce the full B.C. Jobs Plan on Thursday.

Two backgrounders follow.

Media Contacts:

Chris Olsen
Press Secretary
Office of the Premier
604 220-1640

For Other Ministries:

Karen Murry
Media Relations
Government Communications and Public Engagement
250 387-0779

BACKGROUNDER 1

Sept. 20, 2011
Office of the Premier
Ministry of Advanced Education
Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation

International education brings benefits to B.C.

Strategic focus to international education:

The Province's International Education Strategy will provide social and economic benefits by leveraging decades of experience and best practices to:

• Build on existing long-term relationships with key countries, like China, Japan and Korea, and target emerging economies, like India, Brazil and Saudi Arabia, to ensure a diversity of students choose British Columbia as their preferred place to study.
• Develop strategies to more effectively target international students to study in specific in-demand fields in B.C., such as the trades, research-graduates and health care.
• Work with institutions, and their home communities, to ensure they are welcoming and have the tools necessary to support the needs of international students.
• Take a leadership role amongst provinces, and work collaboratively with the federal government, to encourage a national approach to international education and to remove hurdles allowing more international students to come to B.C. and stay and work here once they graduate.
• Expand and strengthen our focus on Education Quality Assurance, a designation which helps both international and domestic students determine which schools meet or exceed established quality assurance standards.
• Develop an international education council and, through use of B.C.'s international trade offices and an online gateway offering a no-wrong-door approach to key information, prospective B.C. students will be able to connect with B.C. education opportunities and further advance the strategy.
• More effectively encourage students who attend and receive Dogwood diplomas in international schools, and in B.C. classrooms, to choose B.C. post secondary institutions to continue their education.
• Encourage study abroad opportunities, including exchanges, for B.C. students and promote international partnerships, to ensure our students are graduating with international competencies demanded by the global economy.

Government is currently engaging with institutions and local governments on the strategy, which is expected to be finalized this winter.

B.C. as an international education destination:

British Columbia has become one of the world's most popular destinations for international students, with 94,000 people choosing to study in B.C. annually. The Province now hosts about 30 per cent of all international students living in Canada.

• The top five countries sending students to B.C. to take post-secondary classes are: China (12,500), Japan (2,700), Saudi Arabia (2,600), Korea (2,600) and the U.S. (2,300).
• The top five countries sending students to study at private language schools in B.C. are: Korea (9,200), Japan (7,600), Brazil (4,700), Saudi Arabia (4,000) and Mexico (3,900).
• The top five countries whose students are enrolled in B.C.'s elementary and secondary schools are: Korea (6,100), China (1,900), Japan (800), Taiwan (700) and Germany (700).
• The top five countries with students attending all school types, from K-12 to post secondary and language schools: Korea (17,900), China (15,400), Japan (11,100), Saudi Arabia (6,600) and Brazil (5,500)

International education as an economic driver:

International education is helping to drive B.C.'s economy, creating an estimated 22,000 jobs and $1.25 billion in GDP. These benefits are felt regionally, for example, the total direct economic impact of all types of international students in:

• Mainland/Southwest - more than $950 million in GDP and over 17,000 jobs.
• Vancouver Island/Coast - more than $125 million in GDP and approximately 2,000 jobs.
• Southern Interior - more than $136 million in GDP and over 2,000 jobs.
• Northern B.C. - more than $16.5 million in GDP and about 250 jobs.

On a local level:

• Thompson Rivers University, in the Interior, had 1,460 international students last year, contributing $88 million to Kamloops' economy each year.
• College of the Rockies, in the Kootenays, had 227 international students last year and their presence generated over $3.2 million for the local economy.

By the numbers:

• $1.8 billion - the amount international students spent in B.C. in 2010.
• $1.25 billion - the amount international education contributed to B.C.'s GDP in 2010.
• $70 million - the estimated revenue to government in 2010 from international education.
• 22,000 - the number of jobs generated as a result of international education in B.C.
• 160 - the number of countries with students taking post-secondary courses in B.C.
• 70 per cent - the number of international students in B.C. who come from the Asia-Pacific.
• 3.3 million - the current number of internationally mobile students worldwide.
• 7.2 million - the number of international students expected globally by 2025.

Projected benefits by the numbers:

• 1,800 - the number of new jobs estimated to be created in B.C., if international student enrolment were to increase by ten per cent alone.
• $100 million - the projected incremental increase in B.C.'s GDP, should international student enrolment increase by ten per cent.
• $6 million - the amount in additional government revenue that could be generated from a ten per cent increase in international students.

Media Contacts:

Chris Olsen
Press Secretary
Office of the Premier
604 220-1640

For Other Ministries:

Karen Murry
Media Relations
Government Communications and Public Engagement
250 387-0779

BACKGROUNDER 2

Sept. 20, 2011
Office of the Premier
Ministry of Advanced Education
Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation

Skills training programs have strong regional jobs focus

Over the coming decade, British Columbia is projected to have over one million job openings. A new wave of economic growth stimulated by the B.C. Jobs Plan will further increase the number of jobs. The B.C. Jobs Plan will ensure the nearly $2 billion spent on post-secondary education every year, and the over $500 million provided annually for labour market and training programs are targeted to meeting regional and industry labour market needs. In addition to provincial investments for skills development and job training programs, funding comes from the federal-provincial agreements and other partnerships

The goal is to ensure British Columbians can fill job opportunities in regions where they live and study.

Aligning skills training to where the jobs are and to the needs of the local workforce:

• Regional Workforce Tables will be created in partnership with employers, industries, communities, local chambers of commerce, First Nations, labour and post-secondary education institutions. The Table members will identify unique skills training needs in each region. Their input will inform how the Province delivers regionally based skills development programs, including $15 million being provided to further support regional post-secondary institutions to meet local labour needs.

Ensuring training and skills development will match the needs of sectors that are creating jobs:

• The Province will provide up to $6 million annually to industry sector partnerships to help them identify their skill and workforce needs, and will then provide additional funding for upgrading skills to allow workers to take advantage of these opportunities. Areas will include: forestry, mining, tourism, transportation, wine-making, service and other sectors.
• A trades training conference to be held this year will bring all partners together to identify ways to enhance the province's trades training programs. Over 10 per cent of job openings will be in trades - and many are in the resource sectors. The conference will allow all partners to work together on a plan so that trades training programs are even more responsive to needs of industry and local communities.

Attract British Columbians to job opportunities:

• The B.C. Jobs plan will invest in new online tools to better inform British Columbians about the job opportunities in the areas where they live. A key focus will be informing young people about career opportunities to guide education choices.
• New Employment Service Centres located in 98 communities across the province will provide a single point of entry to employment services. Opening in April 2012, the employment centres will provide job preparation support, skill assessments, and referrals to local training to help British Columbians prepare for and find jobs.

Match new British Columbians to regional job opportunities:

• Skilled newcomers to B.C. are important to ensure the province is able to fill future job demands. B.C. is part of a global competition to attract the best-skilled workers in key sectors.
• International students support local economies and invest in training that directly supports B.C.'s Jobs Plan. The Province will work to connect international students to British Columbia's regional job opportunities and assist them to be successful so that they choose to remain in British Columbia.

Media Contacts:

Chris Olsen
Press Secretary
Office of the Premier
604 220-1640

For Other Ministries:

Karen Murry
Media Relations
Government Communications and Public Engagement
250 387-0779