BC Invests $192,000 in Trades Training with Electrical Joint Training Committee

August 12, 2016

To help BC students get skills training as electricians, the provincial government plans to invest $192,000 in the Electrical Joint Training Committee (EJTC).

The investment, through the Industry Training Authority (ITA), will fund 96 electrician trades training seats through to March 31, 2017 at the EJTC Green Skills Campus.

The funding announcement is part of the ITA’s annual allocation to BC post-secondary institutions and training providers to run various training programs throughout the province. Last year, EJTC received $160,500 from the ITA.

In response to the objectives outlined in B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint, the B.C. government has worked in partnership with the ITA to begin building a demand-driven trades training system with funding aligned to specific high-priority trades.

“We are expecting almost one million job openings in BC by 2024,” says Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour. “Our investments through the Skills for Jobs Blueprint specifically target high-priority trades, including electricians, so that we can ensure that we have the workforce necessary for our growing economy. By working with our training providers like the Electrical Joint Training Committee, we can give British Columbians the skills they need for in-demand jobs in B.C.”

The shipbuilding and ship repair industry is a key part of BC’s economy, providing billions of dollars in revenue and more than 4,000 jobs. By 2020, an estimated $10 billion in new investment will be made in the BC shipbuilding and ship repair sector, and an additional 4,000 direct and indirect jobs will become available. The new training centre will help journeypersons get the skills they need to work in this growing industry.

The Electrical Joint Training Committee is a partnership between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 213 and the Electrical Contractors Association of BC. The EJTC electrical training facility is one of the largest in BC.