Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour Shirley Bond has issued the following statement in recognition of Labour Day, observed this year on Sept. 1:

“Observing Labour Day on the first Monday of September provides us with an opportunity to give thanks to the hard-working British Columbians who built our great province and made it an even greater place to live, work and raise our families.

“Every worker has the right to come home safely at the end of the day. Following the efforts made by the labour movement and governments present and past, we continue to work collaboratively with employees, employers and unions to make workplaces safer and improve worker safety and worker rights.

“Labour Day also gives us the chance to look toward the employment opportunities that are ahead for our province. By 2022, there will be one million job openings in B.C., along with an increase in demand for more skills training and higher education - more than 78% of jobs will require some form of post-secondary education, and 43% in trades and technical occupations.

“As part of our goal to maximize the potential of our existing workforce and prepare our young workforce of the future, we have developed the Skills for Jobs Blueprint, a plan that will provide today’s youth with a seamless path of education and training beginning in school and continuing through to the workplace.

“On behalf of government this Labour Day, I want to express my gratitude for all the great work British Columbians do.

“Working together, I know we can build on our proud legacy and make British Columbia an even better, more prosperous and safer place.”

To download a high-res photo of Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour Shirley Bond:
http://www.gov.bc.ca/premier/executive/images/highres/shirley_bond.jpg

Learn More:

Employment Standards Branch: http://www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/

WorkSafeBC: http://www.worksafebc.com/

BC Labour Relations Board: http://www.lrb.bc.ca/

B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint:
http://www.bcjobsplan.ca/getskills/wp-content/uploads/BCs_Skills_for_jobs_blueprint.pdf

Media Contacts:

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