Fort St. John schools receive $80,000 for new shop class equipment

British Columbia’s construction employers have provided $80,000 in grant funding to support skilled trades training in the Peace River North School District through the Project Shop Class initiative. The funds were presented November 4th, 2014, at the opening of the “Find Your Fit” sessions at the Regional LNG Energy Seminars in Fort St. John, and will go towards the purchase of much-needed equipment for their shop classes.

“These grants are made possible through the generous donations of industry employers and the Northern Development Initiative Trust. They are confirmation of our collective commitment to invest in the future of our youth,” remarked Rosalind

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ARCHITECTURE & LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE www.chparchitects.com 604-793-9445 Thorn, president of the B.C. Construction Association –North. “This is the type of collaborative initiative we need in northern B.C. in order to open up access to new opportunities for our local students.”

Carson Newby of Shell Canada, a major contributor to the initiative, was on hand to speak to a crowd of individuals from local schools, local government, industry and businesses. “We are very pleased to be part of this worthy initiative. With the shortage of skilled workers that B.C. is facing, we must encourage our youth to consider a career in the trades, and having up-to-date equipment in shop classes results in a stronger introduction to the trades.”

As Peace River North MLA Pat Pimm stated, “Our government is working to equip people with the skills they need to participate in our growing economy, particularly our natural gas industry. As the Peace is the heartland of natural resource development in B.C., it’s critical that our students have access to skills training to meet the demands of industry. The purchase of necessary equipment will help students acquire those skills.”

Currently, just one in 85 new high school graduates in British Columbia enter the construction trades within one year of graduation. For B.C. to address predicted skilled trades shortages of at least 26,000 workers by 2023, that number must be closer to one in five.

“We have heard clearly from B.C. students, parents, teachers, and construction employers that something needs to be done to improve the training experience in high schools. This initiative aligns perfectly with the Foundation’s commitment to increasing awareness of the opportunities in our sector and helping to train the B.C. journeypersons’ needs for tomorrow.”

~Abigail Fulton, Executive Director, Construction Foundation of B.C.

Project Shop Class is an initiative of the Construction Foundation of B.C., which aims to encourage young British Columbians to develop practical skills and pursue careers in the skilled trades.

The Construction Foundation of B.C. is the charitable arm of the construction associations of British Columbia: the B.C. Construction Association (BCCA), BCCA – North, the Southern Interior Construction Association (SICA), the Vancouver Island Construction Association (VICA), and the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA). b

For more information, please visit: www.projectshopclass.com Media contact: Abigail Fulton Email: abigailf@bccassn.com Tel: (250) 857 2881

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