Province invests $36,000 in trades training at Burnaby School District 41

BURNABY – The Province announced today that it has invested, through

the Industry Training Authority (ITA), $36,000 in the Burnaby School

District for skills training seats in the district’s Community and

Continuing Education program.

The investment will fund 32 Landscape Horticulturist seats in School

District 41 through to March 31, 2017.

The funding is part of the ITA’s allocation to B.C. post-secondary

institutions and training providers to run various training programs

throughout the province.

“Apprentices and their educators are an invaluable part of our

province’s economy. They help fill our labour market demands and keep

our economy diverse and strong. I am happy to see that School District

41 has been recognized as a part of this winning solution for B.C.’s

economy,” says Richard T. Lee, MLA for Burnaby North.

This investment is in addition to two recent funding announcements for

Burnaby: $18 million to fund 6,769 skills training seats at the B.C.

Institute of Technology; and $323,000 to fund 160 seats at the

International Union of Operating Engineers Local 115.

In response to the objectives outlined in B.C.’s Skills for Jobs

Blueprint and the McDonald Report, the B.C. government has worked in

partnership with the ITA to begin building a demand-driven trades

training system with funding aligned to specific in-demand trades.

The provincial government invests more than $94 million annually in

industry training through the ITA. The ITA leads and co-ordinates

British Columbia’s skilled trades system by working with employers,

employees, industry, labour, training providers and government to issue

credentials, manage apprenticeships, set program standards and increase

opportunities in the trades.