Aboriginal students at four Vancouver Island post-secondary institutions will benefit from a range of continuing and new programs and services as they work to complete their post-secondary education and training.

Examples of programs and services funded include:

• Elders-in-residence who will provide cultural guidance and traditional knowledge for Camosun College (Camosun) students;
• a Tourism Bridging program at North Island College (NIC) that will give students employment training for the tourism and hospitality sectors;
• outreach workshops at the University of Victoria (UVic) that will provide students with education planning, career exploration and information about programs and resources; and
• a Hul’qumi’num Language Revitalization program at Vancouver Island University (VIU) that aims to improve the language fluency of students.

Camosun received $499,932, NIC received $404,337, VIU received $606,463 and UVic received $200,000 through Aboriginal Service Plan funding for 2016-17 to provide these supports.

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Aboriginal Service Plans help to increase access to post-secondary education and training for Aboriginal learners as well as strengthen partnerships between public post-secondary institutions and Aboriginal communities. The service plans are designed to make post-secondary institutions and programs more receptive to Aboriginal learners and more relevant to them.

Aboriginal Service Plans are part of ongoing activities to support the Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education Training Policy and Framework and Action Plan (Aboriginal Framework). The provincial government launched this plan in 2012 to help Aboriginal learners succeed in an integrated, relevant and effective British Columbia post-secondary education system.

Government has invested more than $20 million in Aboriginal Service Plans since the launch of the Aboriginal Framework, including $2 million for Camosun, $1.9 million for NIC, $2.7 million for VIU and $1.4 million for UVic.

Aboriginal learners in B.C. were awarded 3,340 credentials in 2014-15, an increase of 27%, or 706, over 2009-10. One of the Aboriginal Framework goals is to increase the number of credentials awarded to Aboriginal learners by 75% by 2020-21.

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Quotes:

Advanced Education Minister Andrew Wilkinson –

“Due to economic growth and retirement, there are many promising career prospects on Vancouver Island in a range of sectors - from health care to technology to natural resources. Our government wants Aboriginal students to have the opportunity to access and complete the post-secondary education and training they need to take advantage of these opportunities.”

Parksville-Qualicum MLA Michelle Stilwell –

“There will be more than 100,000 job openings in our region over the next ten years, and many will require post-secondary education. Aboriginal Service Plans help institutions support the success of students as they complete the training they need to find rewarding jobs.”

Camosun College president Sherri Bell –

“This funding is important to Camosun College as it not only supports our commitment to providing relevant and culturally-supportive educational experiences to the more than 1,100 Indigenous students we serve, but it supports one of our major strategic goals, Indigenization, and our plans to further incorporate more Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing into curriculum development, services to students, policies, planning and employee education.”

North Island College president John Bowman –

“As leaders in education, and with a deep commitment to supporting access to learning across the region, we look forward to growing our partnerships, Aboriginal programs, community engagement and student successes with the province’s continued generous support.”

Vancouver Island University president Ralph Nilson –

“The provincial government’s support for engagement with Aboriginal communities is vital to VIU. Aboriginal Service Plan funding will allow VIU to continue working with Aboriginal communities to enhance access to post-secondary education for Aboriginal learners, strengthen community partnerships and programs, and focus on activities such as language revitalization and cultural activities.”

University of Victoria president Jamie Cassels -

“At the University of Victoria, we continue to be national leaders in our efforts to support the success of Indigenous students and to develop education programs and research relevant to the First Peoples in Canada. As we draw inspiration from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action, this additional provincial funding supports outreach workshops and affirms our longstanding commitment to closing the educational gap, fostering intercultural understanding and being a catalyst for reconciliation.”

Learn More:

Aboriginal post-secondary education and training in B.C.:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/factsheets/aboriginal-post-secondary-education-and-training-in-bc

Aboriginal Framework:
http://www.aved.gov.bc.ca/aboriginal/policy-framework.htm