As part of B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint, government is investing $12 million in 2015-16 for new trades equipment at 14 public post-secondary institutions so students planning to enter in-demand occupations learn their trade using industry-standard technology.

“Our investment of $12 million in new trades training equipment will give students the skills needed for a wide range of in-demand careers,” said Advanced Education Minister Andrew Wilkinson. “The provincial economy is growing in a range of sectors - from LNG to shipbuilding and ship repairs to construction - and having skilled workers to fill positions is critical to our ongoing success.”

Post-secondary institutions will use the funds to purchase equipment such as diesel engines, a logging truck and trailer, and air disc brake and high voltage trainers.

“We promised to shift funding and training to support in-demand jobs,” said Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training Minister and Minister Responsible for Labour Shirley Bond. “Since launching B.C.’s Blueprint, we have invested $17 million in trades training equipment and targeted $13 million to reduce wait lists in high-demand trades so our diverse, strong and growing economy has the trained workers it needs.”

Consultations with institutions, the Industry Training Authority, as well as current labour market data, inform decisions for funding.

“For more than 40 years, students have come to Camosun for trades training, and employers have come to Camosun for skilled employees,” said Camosun College president Sherri Bell. “This latest injection of funding for industry-standard equipment, combined with our new Centre for Trades Education and Innovation, positions Camosun to meet and exceed the needs of our students and employers.”

The $12 million is part of the B.C. government's investment of $185 million over three years in new trades training equipment and facilities to support students who will help meet the need for skilled tradespeople in B.C.

Quick facts:

• B.C.’s Blueprint outlines how the province is re-engineering the education system - from kindergarten through to post-secondary training and beyond - to make sure education and training aligns with B.C. jobs.
• By 2022, B.C. is expected to have one million job openings in B.C. - more than 78% of jobs will require some form of post-secondary education.
• Approximately 13% of the one million projected job openings to 2022 are for in-demand trade occupations in B.C.

Learn more:

B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint: www.workbc.ca/skills

B.C.’s 2022 Labour Market Outlook: http://ow.ly/DOw6R

$6.1 million for 1,429 additional critical-trades seats in 2015-16: http://ow.ly/OeLxh

$5 million in 2014-15 for new trades training equipment: http://ow.ly/Pf5M1 & http://ow.ly/PEzPs

Media Contacts:

Richelle D. Funk
Ministry of Advanced Education
250 356-7876

BACKGROUNDER 1

$12 million for new trades training equipment in B.C.

Below are the 14 public post-secondary institutions that have received funding for new trades training equipment:

British Columbia Institute of Technology
Funding amount: $2.3 million
Examples of equipment BCIT intends to purchase: welders, a power feed drilling machine and a hydraulic shear.

Camosun College
Funding amount: $1.4 million
Examples of equipment Camosun College intends to purchase: broilers, a blast chiller, welders, a refrigeration trainer and a pump control trainer.

College of New Caledonia
Funding amount: $1.5 million
Examples of equipment the College of New Caledonia intends to purchase: welding tools, a solar array recorder system and a diesel engine.

College of the Rockies
Funding amount: $211,000
Examples of equipment the College of the Rockies intends to purchase: welders, vibration monitoring equipment, and a hydraulic puller set with mechanical pliers.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Funding amount: $803,000
Examples of equipment Kwantlen Polytechnic University intends to purchase: welding equipment, programmable logic controllers’ labs, and clean energy technology trainers.

North Island College
Funding amount: $447,000
Examples of equipment North Island College intends to purchase: a panel saw, transformers, inductors and an edge sander.

Northern Lights College
Funding amount: $829,000
Examples of equipment Northern Lights College intends to purchase: a wheel loader, a diesel engine bench and an air disc brake trainer.

Northwest Community College
Funding amount: $255,000
Examples of equipment Northwest Community College intends to purchase: a cable analyzer and a low-bed trailer.

Okanagan College
Funding amount: $1.5 million
Examples of equipment Okanagan College intends to purchase: welders, a vertical band saw, a compressor and a Cummins engine.

Selkirk College
Funding amount: $87,000
Examples of equipment Selkirk College intends to purchase: a stonebake oven, a vertical milling machine, and a manual cold saw.

Thompson Rivers University
Funding amount: $857,000
Examples of equipment Thompson Rivers University intends to purchase: electrical test bench, a transmission for a grader, a gas heat trainer, and an air conditioning recharging system.

University of the Fraser Valley
Funding amount: $193,000
Examples of equipment the University of the Fraser Valley intends to purchase: diesel engines, an HVAC trainer, and a 110 tonne shop press.

Vancouver Community College
Funding amount: $857,000
Examples of equipment Vancouver Community College intends to purchase: a four-deck oven, a double convection oven, a gravel truck, and a logging truck with a trailer.

Vancouver Island University
Funding amount: $730,000
Examples of equipment Vancouver Island University intends to purchase: welders, a horizontal band saw and a high voltage trainer.

Media Contacts:

Richelle D. Funk
Ministry of Advanced Education
250 356-7876

BACKGROUNDER 2

Funding training equipment to support trades programs

The 18 eligible trades training programs, in the list of in-demand occupations, delivered by public post-secondary institutions in B.C. are:

• Carpenters
• Chefs/cooks/bakers
• Concrete finishers
• Construction craft workers
• Crane operators
• Electricians
• Gas fitters
• Heavy equipment operators
• Heavy mechanical trades
• Insulators
• Iron workers
• Machinists
• Millwrights
• Plumbers
• Power engineers
• Sheet metal workers
• Steam/Pipefitters and Sprinkler System Installers
• Welders

Media Contacts:

Richelle D. Funk
Ministry of Advanced Education
250 356-7876