VBF-SkilledTrades-Jan 26, 2023
Today’s Virtual Breakfast Forum was very well attended by Members and guests alike. Rod Bianchini, Chief Strategy & Compliance Officer with Skilled Trades BC (formerly Industry Training Authority) shared a compelling presentation unveiling their expanded role in advancing BC’s skilled trades system, and implementing Skilled Trades Certification.
Skilled Trades BC works with 40 training providers across the province, supports over 40,000 apprentices and has over 10,000 employer sponsors.
BC is the only province in Canada that doesn’t have compulsory trade certifications. However, in June 2022 the Government of BC announced that there will now be a mandatory Certification Program that will be administered by Skilled Trades BC. The Skilled Trades Certification program will be phased-in to high-demand industries such as Electrical, Mechanical and Automotive, and will target 10 trades within these industries. A great deal of industry consultation was done prior to implementation of the new system.
Rod shared an interesting statistic: for every 8.9 job seekers there are 10 job vacancies, and it’s expected that the increase in jobs will continue to outpace workers. There are 85,000 workers needed over the next 10 years to meet the supply gap. What is the solution? An increased labour force, a reduction in attrition or increased automation. Skilled Trades BC is working with Immigration and BCIT to attract more workers and to educate new workers on the benefits of a career in Trades.
This presentation was recorded and EHSCBC Members can review it if they were unable to attend the forum.
A reminder of our next Virtual Breakfast Forum which will be a General Forum, is on Thursday February 9th.
On February 16th, we have our first in person site tour at CKF. Space is limited, please register at this link.
Rod’s presentation link can be downloaded at this link.
