The carpentry program at Camosun’s Interurban campus was the scene of a major announcement in the provincial trades industry on Thursday, April 19.
BC minister of jobs, tourism and innovation Pat Bell stopped by campus to announce that a record-breaking number of tradespersons have qualified as journeypersons this year.
“There are great opportunities in our province for skilled workers, and now more than ever we need men and women to choose a career in the trades,” said Bell during the announcement. “Whether you’re entering the workforce for the first time, re-entering it or changing careers, there is an opportunity in the trades for you. It’s an exciting career path, and it’s great to see that this year we’re seeing a record-breaking number of apprentices qualifying for their certification.”
Joining Bell for the announcement was Kevin Evans, CEO of the Industry Training Authority (ITA), Camosun president Kathryn Laurin, as well as instructors and students from the college’s carpentry program.
According to Cam Russell, Camosun’s chair of architectural trades, having Bell and Evans tour the carpentry department in the Drysdale building at Interurban was a huge advantage for the college. “Neither of these gentlemen had ever visited the Interurban campus before,” says Russell, “so it was an excellent way to show them our trades training facilities and what our students do.”
The ITA awarded almost 9,000 certificates of qualification during the 2011-12 year, the largest number since the ITA was established in 2004. The record number of certificates is a 20-percent increase over 2010-11. A certificate, also know as a “ticket,” allows a tradesperson to get full market value as a journeyperson and act as a mentor for other apprentices.
Evans spoke on what the record number of certificates means for BC’s training and apprenticeship programs, the future of skilled labour in the province, and what industry, employers, government, and postsecondary institutions such as Camosun need to do in order to meet labour demands.
“This milestone achievement provides evidence that BC’s industry training system is performing at the level required to meet BC’s skilled labour demands,” said Evans. “The record demand for an ITA credential demonstrates how highly valued it is by both employers and skilled tradespeople.”
According to the ITA, over 100,000 jobs will open up in BC trades over the next decade, causing a potential shortage of skilled workers in the province.