B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint: Re-engineering Education and Training
With one million job openings ahead, we have an incredible opportunity on the horizon in British Columbia. We are re-engineering education and training so that B.C.’s students and workers have the skills to be first in line for jobs in a growing economy. That’s why we have created a Blueprint to guide our education and training system to help British Columbians successfully navigate their education and training journey.
To view the Blueprint, please visit: http://www.workbc.ca/skills
One of the objectives of the Blueprint includes building a stronger partnership with industry and labour to deliver training and apprentices. To accomplish this, our government is taking action to refocus the Industry Training Authority.
Refocusing the ITA
Our government committed to a complete review of the Industry Training Authority (ITA) as the Crown Corporation responsible for leading B.C.’s trades training system. That review, conducted by Jessica McDonald, is complete and has now been released.
Consultations were conducted with trades training stakeholders throughout the fall of 2013 and the final report was submitted to government in February 2014. It sets out 29 recommendations to enhance and strengthen B.C.’s trades training system – all of which have been accepted by government and will be implemented as part of B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint: Re-engineering Education and Training.
B.C.’s trades training system is working. Today, B.C. has twice as many apprentices, and is issuing around three times as many credentials compared to 2004. But the ITA was created almost 10 years ago, and since then B.C.’s economy has changed considerably.
Major shifts to the trades training system include
- Ensuring a demand-driven system that will meet the needs of workers and employers.
- Unifying cross-government decision-making with funding allocated based on labour market information and workforce targets.
- Reconstituting the ITA Board as a strong leadership team to ensure stronger partnerships with industry and labour to deliver training and apprenticeships.
- Holding the ITA and post-secondary institutions accountable for system results.
- Bringing the functions of Industry Training Organizations (ITOs) inside the ITA and establishing Sector Advisory Councils
These shifts will in turn ensure:
- There is accountability in the system for outcomes that are evidence-based and demand driven.
- A high performing ITA with strong leadership.
- A meaningful role for industry and employers, including labour.
- An increased the supply of skilled trades people, in the right place, at the right time.
To view the complete McDonald Report, please visit: http://www.jtst.gov.bc.ca/ITA_Review/docs/ITA_Review_Final_Report.pdf
For more information about the Industry Training Authority, please visit: http://www.itabc.ca/
Source: http://www.jtst.gov.bc.ca/ITA_Review/
