BC’s Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills Minister says they are working to get more skilled workers out in the field amid a growing skilled labour shortage across British Columbia.
Selina Robinson says they are working to expand “microcredentials” which allow people to complete their education while simultaneously working in their chosen industry.
“It helps people to either rescale or gain extra skills in small bites so that it’s affordable and it’s quick and efficient so that they can move into those jobs and continue their learning while they’re working,” she said.
“For example, some of the microcredentials might be morning classes, and then they go to work in the afternoon for what they’re training for – It’s not an either-or, it’s both and it’s simultaneous.”
Robinson says not only does it benefit employees, but she explains employers also gain from it.
“I’ve talked with somebody who runs a Canadian Tire and he could find current mechanics, Red Seal mechanics,” she said. “I’ve heard about Canadian Tire, in partnership with BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology) by doing training where Canadian Tire is getting the kind of labor skilled labor that they need.”
She says they are working with the private, not-for-profit, and public sectors to create opportunities that allow British Columbians to learn and work simultaneously.
“We know that people, in many ways, are a superpower as a province; when we have a skilled labor force, businesses can grow.”
The latest provincial Labour Market Outlook forecasts over one million jobs are expected to be available over the next decade, with nearly 80 percent of those requiring post-secondary education or training.
Of the total job vacancies expected to be available, 37 per cent are due to a growing economy while 63 per cent of the openings are a result of retiring workers.
“We are a retiring workforce, and we need to replace those workers as well; so all of these things are part of the mix, and how we can think creatively and work together to learn and work simultaneously, and have a workforce that meets the needs of today as well as the future,” said Robinson.
Additionally, Robinson says she will be touring post-secondary schools across and working with the Chamber of Commerce Board of Trade and the private and public sectors to help deliver the skilled workforce they need.
