Work clothes? Check. Books? Check. Tools? Check. A place to stay? Check. Students in the Cariboo-Chilcotin School District are packing their bags and traveling to other B.C. communities for enhanced skills, technical, and trades training opportunities thanks to $5,000 for the school district from the Province’s Skills Training Access Grant.

Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett and Cariboo North MLA Coralee Oakes announced this today on behalf of Education Minister Mike Bernier. The Skills Training Access Grant helps school districts connect students with training in fields such as carpentry, coding, and culinary arts by providing funding each year to 30 qualified districts. Thirty districts met the requirements and received the 2016/17 grant. 

The grant program also supports student skills-training development right at home by bringing mobile training units to the Cariboo-Chilcotin area. Also, throughout the district, schools are offering small skills-training classes to ensure students receive the attention and opportunities they need to succeed.

Since the Skills Training Access Grant program began in March 2014, government has committed $470,000 in funding to ensure students throughout the province have access to training and career opportunities.

This grant program supports B.C.'s Skills for Jobs Blueprint, which is re-engineering the province’s education and apprenticeship system so training dollars and programs are targeted to in-demand jobs. It also supports the #BCTECH Strategy―a key component of the BC Jobs Plan to support the growth of B.C.’s vibrant technology sector and strengthen British Columbia’s diverse innovation economy.

Quotes:

Donna Barnett, MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin –

“Programs like these help our students enter the workforce with a competitive edge. Our government is committed to investing in B.C.’s future and one of the best ways we can do this is by supporting our students.”

Coralee Oakes, MLA for Cariboo North –

“This grant is great for students looking to get the most out of their education. The mobile training units that it will provide will ensure that our students receive the best education regardless of their location.”

Learn More:

Explore B.C.’s new curriculum: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca

Read the #BCTECH Strategy: https://bctechstrategy.gov.bc.ca/

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

The B.C. government has launched a new parent-engagement process to better understand how parents want to be informed of their student’s success from kindergarten to Grade 9.  Participate in this process by visiting: http://engage.gov.bc.ca/yourkidsprogress

British Columbians can also join in an online discussion about rural education by visiting: http://engage.gov.bc.ca/ruraleducation