The upgrades will take place at the Prince George, Quesnel and Mackenzie campuses. Power plant and power engineering upgrades at the Prince George campus will make significant improvements to the 35-year-old heating and cooling system and result in annual gas and electrical savings.

Other improvements include a new water well and septic system in Mackenzie, a new fire alarm and sprinkler system in the recently purchased trades building in Mackenzie, an elevator upgrade in Prince George and an upgrade to the exhaust system in Quesnel.

The college and government also announced today how $725,000 in one-time funding - http://ow.ly/dbutB - will be used to offer short term training in the region. The college will deliver several in-demand courses and programs, including 32 additional student seats in power engineering, with 16 seats offered in Prince George and Quesnel respectively.

CNC will also create additional student spaces over the coming year in the mining certificate program in Mackenzie, Vanderhoof, Quesnel and Prince George; the heavy equipment operator or construction assistant program in Burns Lake; the introduction to trades in Prince George; and the hospitality/customer service training for immigrant women in Prince George.

B.C. taxpayers are providing $30 million for CNC's operations this year - including an allowance for general infrastructure maintenance - up from $23.1 million in 2001-02. The number of funded student spaces at the college has increased eight per cent over that time.

Over $36 million in capital investments has been made at the college since 2001, including the construction of the new trades facilities in Prince George and Quesnel which opened last fall.

Quotes:

Shirley Bond, MLA for Prince George-Mount Robson -

"In our recent trades roundtables we heard clearly that additional capital investment was needed to ensure that CNC and other post-secondary institutions could continue the excellent trades programs that have been providing skilled workers for decades in Northern B.C. CNC plays a critical role in ensuring that industry can access the skilled workers needed to meet the ever increasing demand. This is a significant investment at a time when we are expecting a substantial demand for skilled workers in the North."

Pat Bell, MLA for Prince George-Mackenzie -

"The College of New Caledonia has been an educational keystone in our region for decades, and trades training institutions are where the future of British Columbia is being realized. This funding will increase the quality of CNC's learning space as well as save the college money through energy savings."

John Bowman, president, College of New Caledonia -

"We are delighted to receive this much needed funding. While the need for these facility improvements may not be obvious to some, we must ensure our infrastructure is in excellent working order to provide the best learning experience for our students. We are very pleased the government realized this necessity and invested in it."

Funding for B.C. post-secondary institutions:

• $23.7 billion - amount of money invested in post-secondary education in B.C. since 2001.

• 57 per cent - the increase in total operating funding since 2001 across the university sector, along with a 26 per cent increase in total operating funding for the college and institute sector since 2001.

• $1.9 billion - the amount invested in support of post-secondary education this year.

• $10,090 - amount per full-time student funded by the provincial government, up from $8,440 in 2001-02.

Learn More:

BC Jobs Plan: http://www.bcjobsplan.ca/

Media Contact:

Dan Gilmore
Communications Manager
Ministry of Advanced Education
250 952-6400