Thirty years after they were paddled through Vancouver’s False Creek as part of Expo 86, nine Chinese teak dragon boats will be restored by four people gaining work experience in Salmon Arm through a Job Creation Partnership with the Province of British Columbia.

The Province has committed almost $180,000 to the project with Aspiral Youth Partners that will provide participants with up to 50-weeks of skills training in woodworking and power tools operation as they bring the boats back to life. An experienced boat restoration specialist will teach participants the correct techniques to scrape, power sand, varnish and paint each of the nine boats. The restoration process for each boat will include refinishing the hull, original dragon head and tail, seats, paddles, steering oars and drum.

The four project participants will also benefit from work experience in event planning, teamwork and personal management. They will organize community events to showcase the restored boats in Salmon Arm and the surrounding communities.

The first restored boat will be on display at Piccadilly Mall in Salmon Arm April 11 – 18, and project participants will be on hand to discuss the restoration and project.

Eight of the restored boats will be made available for use in communities, festivals, and events throughout the entire province, as well as at Salmon Arm’s annual Dragon Boat Festival on June 25, 2016. The ninth boat will be returned to the Chinese Cultural Centre Dragon Boat Association in Vancouver.

Job Creation Partnerships are part of the Employment Program of BC’s Community and Employer Partnerships, which fund projects that increase employability and share labour market information.

The Community and Employer Partnerships program is featured in B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint and provides more support to people who are struggling to gain a foothold in the job market. It helps build stronger partnerships with industry and labour to connect British Columbians with classroom and on-the-job training, while making it easier for employers to hire the skilled workers they need – when and where they need them.

To date, more than 900 job seekers have benefited from work experience and 200 projects have been funded throughout the province.

Quotes:

Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation Michelle Stilwell –

“This work experience project is giving participants the opportunity to learn new, valuable skills – and be a part of British Columbia’s dragon boat history. In addition to helping prepare people for employment, it’s bringing the community together around a great paddling story.”

MLA for Shuswap Greg Kyllo –

“The Salmon Arm community has really pitched in to make this project happen. It’s so great that we can not only bring an important piece of history back to life, but help provide local workers with job experience and skills development.”

Aspiral Youth Partners executive director Kim Sinclair –

“These boats launched dragon boating in Canada. This work experience project is a great opportunity to bring them back to life. It not only provides great work experience for participants to learn wooden boat restoration techniques, but is bringing our community together and inspiring a new generation of paddlers in B.C.”

Project participant Christina Pasemko –

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. There is a lot more to this than I first expected, though – I am learning every day and it’s a lot of fun.”

Quick Facts:

• Dragon boating is a team paddling sport that originated in China over 2,000 years ago.
• During competition, each boat is outfitted with a painted dragon head and tail, and drum and usually paddled by up to 20 people.
• The nine teak dragon boats were first imported to Vancouver from Hong Kong by the Chinese Cultural Centre Dragon Boat Association (CCCDBA) of Vancouver for use in Expo 86.
• The boats were used in Vancouver’s first dragon boat festival in July 1986, which is now the Vancouver Dragon Boat Festival, the largest dragon boat festival in North America attracting over 190,000 people and 190 dragon boat teams each year.
• After Expo 86, the boats were in constant use by the growing Vancouver dragon boat community, but have been out of the water and unused in recent years.
• In fall 2015, Aspiral Youth Partners collaborated with the Shuswap Association for Rowing and Paddling to transport the original nine imported teak boats to Salmon Arm with the goal to restore them.
• In May 2016, a CCCDBA director who helped bring the boats to Vancouver in 1986 will travel to Salmon Arm to visit with the work-experience participants and broader community to share the history of the boats.
• In 2016, the Shuswap Dragon Boat Festival celebrates its 13th anniversary.
• In 2016-17, the ministry has committed to investing $331 million in employment and labour market programs under the Employment Program of BC.
• $25.5 million has been invested in Community Employer Partnerships since April 2012.
• The Employment Program of BC is funded by the Province of British Columbia as well as the Government of Canada through the Labour Market Development Agreement.
• Funding supports 84 WorkBC Employment Services Centres throughout the province and the four components of the Community and Employer Partnerships fund:
  • Job Creation Partnerships
  • Labour Market Partnerships
  • Project-Based Labour Market Training
  • Research and Innovation

Who is eligible?

• Businesses
• Non-profit organizations
• Crown corporations
• Municipalities, agencies or territorial governments
• Bands/tribal councils
• Public health and educational institutions

Learn More:

For more on the Shuswap Association for Rowing and Paddling: http://www.shuswaprowingandpaddling.com/

To learn more about Aspiral Youth Partners: http://youthpartners.ca/wordpress/

For more information on Community and Employer Partnerships: www.workbc.ca/CEP

Find a local WorkBC Employment Services Centre: www.workbccentres.ca

Learn more about the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation: www.gov.bc.ca/sdsi

For more information on B.C.'s Skills for Jobs Blueprint: www.workbc.ca/skills

To find out more about the BC Jobs Plan: www.engage.gov.bc.ca/bcjobsplan/