Okanagan College: Opportunity

Camosun College Dept: At the same time there's an unprecedented opportunity for young workers and workers willing to upgrade their skills to meet the looming demand, according to Vancouver Sun. That larger strategy, part of the B.C. Jobs Plan, includes government investing $75 million provincewide in facilities and equipment to help address an issue recognized by the college sector and among politicians for some time. Of that $75 million, $29 million of taxpayer funds are flowing into Camosun College and $28 million is earmarked for Okanagan College's project. It makes sense to invest in B.C. colleges now because of those 1.1 million jobs at least 78 per cent will require education after high school and the vast majority are the types of skilled trades and technical training offered mainly in the college system and now is a time of great risk and opportunity in British Columbia. We will need to fill 1.1 million jobs over the next decade with only about 650,000 workers predicted to be available to fill them. If we don't find a solution our economy will be in big trouble. The announcement in September of a $33-million project that will see the expansion and renovation of Okanagan College's trades training facility in Kelowna is part of a larger provincial strategy that addresses the risk and opportunity. It deserves acknowledgment and attention. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.