BC Hydro providing $184K to support career and skills training in northeast

FORT ST. JOHN – Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy and Mines and Minister Responsible for Core Review, announced last Thursday at the 2013 Fort St. John Energy Conference that BC Hydro is providing $184,000 to support the creation of a school district career counsellor position. The goal of the career counsellor is to encourage students to stay in school by facilitating a transition into trades and career training.
Funding will be provided for a two-year period and will benefit students in School District 60 (Peace River North), School District 59 (Peace River South), School District 81 (Fort Nelson) and the First Nations Chalo School. BC Hydro is providing this funding so large scale projects like the proposed Site C dam, with an estimated 10,000 direct jobs during construction and 33,000 total jobs through all stages of development, can employ skilled workers from the Northeast.
BC Hydro is providing the funding to Northern Opportunities to support student education and the development of a skilled workforce in the region. Northern Opportunities will also serve as a liaison for BC Hydro with respect to its future recruitment and/or training requirements in northeast B.C.
Bennett made the announcement while speaking to delegates at the 2013 Energy Conference in Fort St. John. The annual conference attracts politicians, regulators, and industry leaders to discuss and share valuable information and to recognise the industry and its importance to the northeast.
Minister Bennett said, “Trades training is a priority for our government and this funding will help students get the skills they need to have a successful career. The opportunities in the north are substantial, particularly with projects on the horizon like Site C, liquefied natural gas plants and new mines.”
Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Responsible for Labour said, “Encouraging more high school students to choose a career in the trades is a key part of our Skills and Training Plan. This career counsellor position will play a vital role in helping our northern youth to benefit from the many job opportunities that are coming their way.”
Pat Pimm, MLA for Peace River North said, “The Northern Opportunities is such a valuable partnership and it is great to see BC Hydro providing its support for its career counsellor program. It’s another rewarding example of industry, school boards, and colleges all coming together for the betterment of our young people. There will be many jobs in the future and this program certainly gets our students ready for those good, skilled jobs.”
Susan Yurkovich, executive vice president, Site C, BC Hydro  said, “BC Hydro understands the need for a skilled workforce in the northeast and we believe that funding a career counsellor position will benefit both students and industry. Site C will require a large number of skilled workers, and trades and skills training is needed to prepare students for these job opportunities.”
Today’s funding announcement by BC Hydro builds on previous initiatives aimed at increasing skills and trades training in the northeast.
In 2012, BC Hydro invested $1 million to support trades and skills training at Northern Lights College, which has seen the creation of student bursaries that focus on recruitment and retention of students.
In 2012, BC Hydro provided $100,000 in funding to the North East Native Advancing Society to support trades training under its North East Aboriginal Trades Training (NEATT) program.

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