Victoria, British Columbia — The B.C. government unveiled its Future Ready Action Plan on Tuesday, which details a number of incoming grant opportunities potential tradespeople in the province.
British Columbia Premier David Eby says that with the Future Ready Action Plan, the province is “taking action” to get a handle on the evolving trades industry and close the ever-widening labour gap as many B.C. tradespeople enter retirement age.
With this action plan comes a new future skills grant that will provide $3,500 to cover the costs of tuition for short-term skills training for in-demand jobs delivered by public post-secondary institutions.
The grant is set to become available in September and can be applied to any provincially-recognized micro-credential program, several of which relate to the automotive industry.
Certain barriers to free tuition are also set to be removed as part of the plan, including the elimination of the age requirement for the Provincial Tuition Waiver Program, which offers tuition-free education for former youth under care of the province.
Board chair of Skilled Trades B.C., Cindy Oliver said “our province requires a workforce that is agile and ready to adapt to meet the environmental, technological and economic needs of today and tomorrow.
“With 85,000 additional jobs anticipated in the skilled trades over the next ten years, we need to ensure that we are reskilling British Columbians and creating accessible pathways for new Canadians to join the skilled trades. We are excited to be a part of the Province’s proactive approach to addressing these needs through the Future Ready Action Plan.”
More information about the B.C. future skills grant can be found here.
