As many as 30 eligible British Columbians will get skills training and local work experience to prepare them for jobs as certified dental receptionists.

“To support economic recovery for all British Columbians, government is committed to investing in education and training programs throughout the Province,” said Nicholas Simons, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction. “I hope the experience and skills participants gain from this project will help them to find and keep meaningful, good-paying jobs.”

The Province is providing more than $160,000 to Discovery Community College in Nanaimo to deliver skills and certification courses in two intakes of its dental receptionist certificate project. This is a new Community and Employer Partnerships (CEP) project from the Government of British Columbia. Participant recruitment is focused on immigrants and youth.

Participants will receive 13 weeks of occupational, employability and life-skills training, three weeks of on-the-job work experience and two weeks followup support to assist in their job search.

They will also receive certification training, including business communications, dental terminology, patient records, dental office procedures, dental software, billing and scheduling, and CPR First Aid Level 1.

“The staff of Discovery Community College are excited to be working with the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction to offer this employment project in Nanaimo,” said Desiree King, community partnership manager, Discovery Community College. “We are pleased to provide training and work experience in collaboration with our employer partners and create long-term career opportunities for individuals looking for an exciting and rewarding career.”

Funding for this project is provided through the Project Based Labour Market Training stream of WorkBC’s CEP. 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.

“Investing in people and skills training increases employment opportunities and helps workplaces fill needed jobs right here in Nanaimo,” said Sheila Malcolmson, MLA for Nanaimo. “I am glad that this program’s focus on youth and new Canadians will allow for more people to gain valuable work experience and build rewarding careers to support themselves and their families.”

Full-time group-based classroom and virtual learning for the first intake of this project starts Oct. 4, 2021. Project activities run until Feb. 11, 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

Discovery Community College: https://discoverycommunitycollege.com/