Should the province give more support to vocational training? – Poll

Photo: Okanagan College

Okanagan College has stepped up its programs to meet the need for skilled craftsmen in British Columbia.

The Okanagan College Apprentice Hiring Project has just begun after receiving $3 million in funding from the federal Apprenticeship Service program.

The money will be used to help small and medium-sized businesses in need of skilled, first-year apprentice interns.

“Landscapes provide the hands-on work experience people need to pursue careers in skilled trades,” said Stephen Speers, Okanagan College’s dean of commerce and apprenticeship.

“Employers play a key role in our training and certification system, but in today’s economy it can be difficult to find the additional resources to provide apprenticeship training and build our regional workforce. This program helps to meet that challenge.”

The program offers eligible employers $5,000 for every freshman they hire and up to two students per year. The incentive is increased to $10,000 when employers hire an apprentice who voluntarily chooses to identify as an individual within one or more equity earning groups:

• Women

• People with disabilities

• Native people

• Members of the LGBTQ2SI+ communities

• Newcomers and visible minorities

This is the only public university-led project being promoted to construction and manufacturing companies as far north as Revelstoke to the Canada-US border.

“With approximately 22 percent of craftsmen retiring in the next 10 years, it has never been more important to fund, promote and support the training of skilled workers,” said Chuck Cullen, project manager at Team Construction in Kelowna. . Cullen graduated from Okanagan College in 1993 with his Red Seal in Carpentry.

Small to medium businesses with 499 or fewer employees are eligible for funding.

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