WATCH: The provincial government is putting more money into a program aimed at directing high school students towards the trades.
On a day when it was announced that B.C.’s living wage has gone up yet again, the provincial government wanted to remind people that there are jobs out there and they are injecting money into a program that steers them into a career in the trades.
With a million job openings projected by 2022, the province is using the Skills for Jobs Blueprint program to encourage students to consider a career in the trades.
“They get exposed to about three weeks of each trade and the students are able to take that experience and make a decision on what trade they would like to pursue,” said Camosun College instructor Donavan Harris.
The province announced additional funding–more than $727,000–to create 326 seats in 12 post-secondary institutions.
“When they graduate they are going to suddenly be very close to really beginning to earn some big paycheques and build a big future and start right away out of high school,” said B.C. Premier Christy Clark.
The alternative is a university education. Currently, 180,000 students are enrolled in a bachelor, diploma or certificate program while only 40,000 are currently studying a trade.
Given the demand for jobs that pay a living wage and programs to facilitate training, those numbers could start to shift.
-with files from Kylie Stanton
Comments