Eleven public post-secondary institutions in British Columbia expect to save up to $500,000 through three joint procurement agreements for welding and electrical equipment.

Earlier this July, the Province announced $12 million to 14 public post-secondary institutions to purchase new industry-standard trades equipment. The equipment will support students studying in-demand occupations as part of B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint. Three of the public post-secondary institutions that received funding are not purchasing welding or electrical equipment but are purchasing equipment for other in-demand trades training.

“Joint procurement is one way to ensure that the investment we make in the public post-secondary system is maximized for the benefit of students,” said Advanced Education Minister Andrew Wilkinson. “Savings achieved with these three procurement agreements mean students will have greater opportunity to develop in-demand skills by learning their trade on up-to-date equipment.”

Post-secondary institutions expect to save up to $400,000 on the purchase of welding and welding-related equipment, as well as up to $100,000 on the purchase of electrical training and testing equipment. All members of the BC Public Post-Secondary Purchasing Consortium can take advantage of the three joint procurement agreements for one-time purchases within 60 days of closing.

Some institutions are already benefiting from the three agreements. For example, Vancouver Island University (VIU) was set to issue purchase orders worth more than $83,000 after obtaining independent quotes. Through joint procurement, VIU ordered the same equipment and saved almost $30,000, or 35%.

“The $30,000 in savings means our university can purchase more equipment that will give students the hands-on experience employers are looking for,” said VIU welding instructor and program chair Michael Hallam. “This supports our overall goal of ensuring students graduate VIU ready for the workforce.”

The three joint procurement agreements were the result of an open bidding process through BC Bid under the Administrative Service Delivery Transformation program (ASDT). ASDT is a public post-secondary sector-led effort to work collaboratively and pursue joint ventures to reduce the cost of administrative services and improve non-academic service delivery.

Learn More:

The ASDT - Public Post-Secondary Administrative Service Delivery Transformation: http://ow.ly/SXkyZ

Trades training equipment funding in 2015-16: http://ow.ly/SXkAC

B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint: http://ow.ly/SXpAf