Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy and Mines and Minister Responsible for Core Review and Amrik Virk, Minister of Advanced Education announced changes that will position private career training institutions for greater success, expand access to academic and library resources and better co-ordinate international education initiatives.  

The private career training sector is a key part of the post-secondary system, providing important skills training for British Columbians and attracting international students. While the Private Career Training Institutions Agency (PCTIA) has served hundreds of institutions and thousands of students very well for 10 years, changes are required to keep up with the sector’s ongoing evolution, as well as international expectations for quality assurance.

PCTIA will be dissolved and its functions will be transferred to the Ministry of Advanced Education. This approach will allow government to provide more support to the sector and also will provide a regulatory approach that is consistent with other Canadian jurisdictions.

As government is already responsible for related regulation activities such as student financial aid designations , this new approach will also result in more integrated and effective regulation of private career training institutions, the elimination of overlapping processes and a reduced regulatory burden on the sector. Savings of $1.5 million over the first three years are expected through efficiencies and administrative savings.

Government is moving ahead with two initiatives for post-secondary, school and public libraries as part of Core Review to expand access and shared services. This opportunity builds on the shared services initiatives already underway in the education and post-secondary education sectors. It takes a cross-sector shared services approach for libraries, which will also result in expanded public access to information and resources and greater co-ordination and efficiencies across the three sectors.

A new Provincial Digital Library will expand access to academic research and openly licensed library resources. The first phase of the digital library will allow anytime, anywhere access to research created at B.C. post-secondary institutions, while the second phase will expand access to openly licensed resources across academic, school and public libraries.

Next steps will be working with stakeholders to build on the collaborative nature of the sector to identify opportunities for shared services such as shared procurement, licensing and co-ordinated training and technical support. Avoided costs across the two library initiatives are estimated at between $1 million and $2 million.

To support greater co-ordination of international education initiatives, the BC Council for International Education (BCCIE) will establish an inventory of all partnerships between B.C. and international institutions and will track the number of B.C. students and faculty working and studying abroad. BCCIE will continue to work with institutions to support their efforts in priority international and labour markets and will be required to publicly report on its progress.

Quotes:

Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy and Mines and Minister Responsible for Core Review -

“The Core Review continues to identify opportunities to ensure that government is operating as effectively and efficiently as possible. These Core Review changes will improve service to students and institutions in British Columbia and result in up to $3.5 million in savings.”

Amrik Virk, Minister of Advanced Education -

“B.C. has a world-class post-secondary education system. When Minister Bennett tasked me with finding efficiencies, I took it as a challenge to look at the way we’re currently delivering education, and where we can make changes to ensure we have a modern system that is making the most of technology while continuing to deliver high-quality education now and in the future. All of our core-review changes will help make education more accessible, more reliable and more co-ordinated for students.”

David Wells, former PCTIA board chair and academic dean at Vancouver’s Native Education College -

“Changes to PCTIA will help strengthen the private career training industry at a time where the integrity and quality of our educational product, both at home and overseas, is critical to our continued success. We are at a point of convergence with post-secondary education and career training, and ensuring the best for all students will require greater integration with other bodies essential to these important sectors.”

Media Contacts:

Jake Jacobs
Media Relations
Ministry of Energy and Mines and Responsible for Core Review
250 952-0628

Scott Sutherland
Media Relations
Ministry of Advanced Education
250 952-6400