Up to eight eligible British Columbians will get skills training to prepare them for jobs as computer service technicians in the Okanagan.

This is a new Community and Employer Partnerships (CEP) project from the Government of British Columbia.

“As B.C. moves forward into economic recovery, we’re going to see a greater demand for skilled computer service technicians around the province,” said Nicholas Simons, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction. “Graduates of this new project will be well prepared to find and keep good-paying jobs in the computer service industry.”

Participant recruitment is focused on Indigenous individuals, immigrants, persons with multiple barriers to employment, youth, persons with a disability and survivors of violence and/or abuse. 

The Province is providing more than $140,000 to the Canadian Vocational Training Centre in Kelowna to deliver skills and certification courses in its computer service technician program.

“While the demand for IT professionals remains high, we have also been seeing a significant increase in IT technician workloads, especially throughout the past year during the pandemic,” said Cal Purcell, president, Canadian Vocational Training Centre. “This program ensures that there will be ready, qualified workers to meet this demand.”

Participants will receive 23 weeks of occupational and employability skills training, including Microsoft software applications, IT security, PC troubleshooting, coding, CompTIA 1 & 2 and computer simulation, as well as how to set up and run a home business.

Participants will also receive four weeks of on-the-job work experience and two weeks of followup support to assist in their job search. Skilled computer service technicians in B.C. are often employed as network administrators, network analysts and network support technicians.

“Technology is a part of every job and in every sector from health care, to manufacturing and automotive trades,” said Andrew Mercier, Parliamentary Secretary for Skills Training. “With over 75,000 tech jobs forecast in the next decade, we’ll need more skilled tech professionals to lead our province into a strong economic future, so programs like these are vital.”

Funding for this project is provided through the Project Based Labour Market Training stream of WorkBC’s CEP. CEP’s investments are targeted toward projects that support an inclusive economic recovery. CEP supports B.C. job seekers’ training and work experience, leading to employment in available jobs, and aids businesses and communities to address labour market challenges. CEP invests $15 million annually in communities throughout B.C.

Full-time, group-based classroom learning for this project will start on Monday, June 14, 2021. Project activities will run through to Jan. 14, 2022. Anyone interested in finding out more about this or other CEP projects can contact their local WorkBC centre.

Learn More:

Learn how CEPs are helping local communities:
www.workbc.ca/Employment-Services/Community-and-Employer-Partnerships.aspx

Learn about how WorkBC can help find British Columbians jobs that are right for them:
www.workbc.ca/rightforyou

Find your local WorkBC centre:
https://www.workbc.ca/Employment-Services/WorkBC-Centres/WorkBC-Centres-Listing.aspx

Canadian Vocational Training Centre: https://vocationaltrainingcentre.com/