The world is changing and B.C. students need to be ready to adapt to the careers of tomorrow. Students in the Okanagan Skaha School District will be prepared thanks to $22,500 in provincial funding awarded to the district, helping to connect kids with opportunities in skilled trades and tech training. 

Penticton MLA Dan Ashton announced this today on behalf of Education Minister Mike Bernier. Students are receiving one-on-one supports from shoulder tappers―career co-ordinators and recruitment specialists―thanks to $17,500 from the Province’s Shoulder Tappers Program to the Okanagan Skaha School District.

Shoulder tappers are encouraging students with positive input and advice, and connecting them with innovative workshops and on-the-job experience in the skilled-trades and technology fields such as aircraft engineering and heavy-duty mechanics.

The school district is also receiving $5,000 from the Province’s Skills Training Access Grant, which is helping the district connect students with training in fields such as carpentry, coding, and culinary arts.

This grant program also supports student skills-training development right at home by bringing mobile training units to the Penticton area. Also, throughout the Okanagan Skaha School District, schools are offering small skills-training classes to ensure students receive the attention and opportunities they need to succeed.

The Shoulder Tappers Program and the Skills Training Access Grant support 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.

These programs also support 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.

Quote:

Dan Ashton, MLA for Penticton –

“These programs are a wonderful way to help our students get a strong start in their careers and to ensure that we are equipping B.C.’s young people to be the well-trained workforce that our employers will need as our economy continues to grow.”

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