Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills
Programs to train cooks, chefs and bakers are now eligible under the B.C. Access Grant for Labour Market Priorities.
Program eligibility under the B.C. Completion Grant and the B.C. Loan Forgiveness Grant has also expanded.
“Student aid grants encourage students to study in-demand programs, including the culinary arts, and pursue occupations in under-served or designated communities,” said Advanced Education Minister Andrew Wilkinson. “The expansion of eligibility for these three grant programs helps students to access training, get out of debt faster and support the strong, growing and diverse economy of B.C.”
Cook, chef and baker programs are eligible under the B.C. Access Grant for Labour Market Priorities. The grant provides up to $16,400 in non-repayable grant and loan reduction funding. Under the grant, eligible students can receive funds for relocation and tools, as well as funds to reduce provincial student loans and supplement other StudentAid BC funding. Bakers, chefs and cooks are among the top 25 jobs requiring college or apprenticeship training in the 2024 Labour Market Outlook.
“Society relies on the skills and knowledge of professional cooks to prepare nutritious meals, to contribute to the economy and to ensure public health and safety. The passion for good food and a sense of creativity gives immense satisfaction to people all over the world and makes lasting impressions by treating the senses of smell, sight and taste,” said Camosun College Culinary Arts program chair Gilbert Noussitou. “At Camosun we instil the professionalism that a Red Seal designation represents, while providing a realistic, dynamic, intense, and rewarding learning experience needed to reach that exciting stage of recognition, prestige and praise chefs enjoy all around the world.”
The B.C. Access Grant for Labour Market Priorities supports B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint. Blueprint was launched two years ago to help British Columbians get the skills they need to be first in line for the almost one million job openings that are projected by 2024 and to re-engineer our education and training programs towards a data-driven system focusing investments toward training for in-demand jobs.
The B.C. Completion Grant for Graduates now includes 13 new areas of study, including seven technology-related programs. The B.C. Completion Grant for Graduates provides up to $500 in loan reduction to students who complete post-secondary programs that support in-demand occupations. The expansion of the B.C. Completion Grant for Graduates supports the #BCTECH Strategy.
High-priority health programs that train respiratory therapists and polysomnographers (technologists who assist in addressing sleep and breathing disorders) are now eligible under the B.C. Loan Forgiveness Program. The B.C. Loan Forgiveness Program eliminates 100% of BC Student Loans over a five-year period when eligible professionals agree to work a required number of annual hours at a publicly funded facility, either working with children anywhere in B.C. or in a health care facility in an underserved B.C. community.
British Columbia expects almost one million job openings in British Columbia over the next decade, and approximately eight out of ten will require post-secondary training or education.
Learn More:
Student profiles:
- Camosun College culinary arts student Matt Butler: https://news.gov.bc.ca/stories/matt-butler-finds-much-to-love-about-camosuns-professional-cook-program
- Northwest Community College culinary arts student Kateleen Prevost: https://news.gov.bc.ca/stories/nwcc-culinary-arts-student-kateleen-prevost-can-stand-the-heat
B.C. Student Aid information:
- StudentAid BC: https://studentaidbc.ca/
Information about in-demand training and occupations in B.C.:
- #BCTECH Strategy: http://ow.ly/YL1JE
- B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint: http://ow.ly/YCyjt
- B.C. 2024 Labour Market Outlook: http://ow.ly/YFiQS
- Camosun College Professional Cook program: www.camosun.ca/dining
- Northwest Community College Professional Cooking program: https://www.nwcc.bc.ca/interested-culinary-career
