Industry Voices: Breaking down skilled trade barriers – Journal of Commerce
Feb 19, 2015
Last April, the province launched the B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint – a road map for re-engineering education and training to support our province’s demand for skilled labour.
The blueprint lays out a comprehensive new path to promote and deliver training, as well as a mandate to reach young people, women, new Canadians, and Aboriginal peoples, and encourage these groups to engage in a career in the trades.
With a young and growing population and proximity to resource development projects, Aboriginal peoples are a key to meeting B.C.’s future skilled labour needs. First Nations communities are also seeking skills training because trades careers are mobile and these skills are transferable. Communities want to bring skilled labour home to develop projects and maintain infrastructure. While there is a demand for trades training, and an interest by Aboriginal communities, the Apprenticeship system is complex and can be difficult to navigate. In the past, barriers to access have reduced the amount of uptake.
