Students throughout the province soon will have more opportunities and resources at their fingertips to help them train for careers after graduation.

The Government of British Columbia is helping 41 school districts connect today’s students with the skills of tomorrow, including trades and tech training, through two grant programs totalling almost $728,000.

The first grant, the Shoulder Tappers Program, provides school districts with career co-ordinators and recruitment specialists who will mentor students, by encouraging them and providing them with positive input and advice. These mentors also are connecting students with innovative workshops and on-the-job experience in skilled trades and technology careers such as aircraft engineering and heavy-duty mechanics. Thirty-three districts met the requirements and received the 2016-17 shoulder tappers grant.

The second grant, 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 the qualified districts. This year, 30 districts met the requirements and received the 2016-17 grant. Mobile training units are visiting students around the province. Small skills-training classes are running to ensure students receive the attention they need to succeed.

These grants 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. It also supports the #BCTECH Strategy – a key component of the BC Jobs Plan to support the growth of the province’s vibrant technology sector and strengthen British Columbia’s diverse innovation economy.

Quote:

Minister of Education Mike Bernier –

“These grants will provide B.C. students with excellent opportunities to get training earlier so they can be ahead of the game when they graduate and start looking for work in the trades and technology industry.”

Quick Facts:

• In 2015, 30 school districts received $5,000 each from the Skills Training Access Grants.
• Last year, 42 school districts received support from the Shoulder Tappers Program.

Learn More:

B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint: https://www.workbc.ca/training-education/b-c-s-skills-for-jobs-blueprint.aspx

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

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

A backgrounder follows.