B.C.’s skilled workers may soon be buoyed by some big bucks from the feds.
Ottawa announced last week it’s earmarking $16.3 million for 25 projects aimed at bolstering skilled workers throughout the province.
The federal government is tapping its Union Training and Innovation Program (UTIP) for the funds, which will in turn flow through the program’s Investment in Training Equipment stream.
Since 2022, this stream has helped 114 union and training provider projects purchase equipment to enhance training practices.
The B.C. government also set the wheels in motion last year to bolster skilled workers, providing education grants of up to $3,500 to those interested in upgrading their skills since fall 2023.
This grant is available for more than 400 eligible training opportunities throughout the province in areas like construction, technology, housing and clean energy. The province says the program could generate up to 8,500 skilled workers over the next three years.
A 10-year B.C. labour forecast from the province predicted there will be more than a million job openings for skilled workers.
Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault said in an Aug. 16 release that more than $74.6 million is being earmarked across 124 projects through recent calls for proposals under the UTIP.
Launched in June, 2024 the call for proposals under the Sustainable Jobs stream plans to invest over $95 million in five years to support green training for around 20,000 apprentices.
Another key aspect of the program is funding diversity initiatives to address labour shortages, encouraging more women and newcomers to join the workforce.
“Employers have to be looking at women, Indigenous peoples and new Canadians; and even by welcoming those [groups into] the skilled trades workforce, it still may not be enough,” BCIT head of trades access department Tamara Pongracz told BIV in April.
About 43,200 B.C. workers are expected to retire in the next nine years, representing nearly a quarter of the workforce, and will require an estimated 54,000 workers to offset the loss, according to a recent report from BuildForce Canada.
–With files from Claire Wilson and the Canadian Press
