The Skills Centre provides free and low-cost skills training and employment programs. We will help you get the certifications you need, help with your resume and interview skills, and offer financial support while you learn.

Skills Training

- The Medical Lab Assistant training will allow participants to obtain stable employment, earn a living wage, and fill essential job vacancies in our region.
- We’ll also provide soft skills and essential skills workshops to help participants prepare for job interviews and starting a new job.
- The program consists of five online theory courses, a five-day in-person workshop, and an 8 week clinical practicum in a hospital or laboratory. These components provide the theory, skills and certification required for participants to work as a Medical Lab Assistant.

The Skills Centre is partnering with Interior Health and Thompson Rivers University to offer this training.

To be eligible for this program, you must:
- be a woman 19 – 29 years old
- be a Canadian Citizen; or a Permanent Resident; or Protected person entitled to work in Canada
- be living in B.C. 
- have a Social Insurance Number (SIN) 
- be unemployed, or employed part time, seasonally, casually, or precariously employed and seeking training to find a new job, prepare for changing job requirements or new job opportunities 
- Participants cannot be enrolled in another federally or provincially funded training program at the same time.
- Participants currently receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, and those on Income Assistance (IA), are eligible to participate.

Are you eligible for the Medical Lab Assistant training?

"I was very impressed with the level of service provided by the Skills Centre. I was able to find full-time employment in my field within a month of completion of my courses. I highly recommend taking advantage of what the Skills Centre has to offer."

Medical Lab Assistant Training

Certification exams for companies like Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco, HP, and CompTIA are available at the Skills Centre.

From the [Pearson Vue Test Takers web page](https://home.pearsonvue.com/test-taker.aspx), you can search for designated exams and register online to come in and write the required exams.

The Pearson Vue Testing Facility offers:

***Pearson Vue offers proctored, online testing and certification for hundreds of credentialed organizations in a variety of sectors, including:***
- Academic entrance and admissions to various institutions
- Information Technology
- Financial and related services
- Government
- Health Care

Online testing and certification

"Through this program I was able to get certifications with WHIMIS, Serving It Right, and Food Safe. I have been supported through my entire journey by everyone I met through these programs! I now have my confidence and self esteem that had slipped out from me due to my age. Everyone has been patient, flexible, and kind!"

Pearson Vue Test Facility

**Karina Allis** changed career tracks as a mature worker to become an employment counsellor. Her experience making a career and employment transition is key to successfully supporting job seekers. She knows her stuff, and she knows how to help people find the confidence and comfort level to learn new skills and find a new job at any stage of their life.

“There are many reasons why people over 55 are looking for a different job. We understand those reasons, and I will work with them to help them make that change,” she says.

“Many of our clients haven’t written a resume in 25 or more years. The last time they looked for a job, it was a very different experience. We’re here to give people the tools to get through those challenges and start a new phase of their life.”

“I often say to people I practiced being unemployed before starting my career as an employment counsellor, and learned that finding the right employer is as important as finding the right job!”

Your Mature Workers Facilitator: Karina Allis

Karina Allis

Project Specialist

**Karina Allis** changed career tracks as a mature worker to become an employment counsellor. Her experience making a career and employment transition is key to successfully supporting job seekers. She knows her stuff, and she knows how to help people find the confidence and comfort level to learn new skills and find a new job at any stage of their life.

Meet your facilitator

- Food Safe
- WHMIS
- Super Host
- First Aid training
- Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training
- Naloxone
- Mental Health First Aid
- Basic Security Training Certification

We offer job specific certificates such as:

- Workshops on job searching today, updating your resume, and interview skills
- Workshops on soft skills including communication, confidence, team work, interpersonal skills, age in the workplace, coping skills (such as stress or shift work), health and wellness, mental health & self-care
- Job placement support including wage subsidies and connecting you with employers
- Funding for transportation, required work clothing or gear, criminal record check, and more.

We offer workshops such as:

"Knowing my job application skills were rusty and needed to be fine-tuned, I joined the Mature Workers program. As well as providing some guidance in updating skills, the staff has assisted in financial support for further courses and partnering with other community agencies. Many thanks to the staff of the Skills Centre."

Mature Workers

**“It is exciting to be a part of a new program team** offering the Sparking Opportunities program,” says Karina Allis. “I look forward to seeing participants take on the challenges of exploring, learning and developing skills that will take them into self-employment or remote work.”

Karina has been providing employment support services at the Skills Centre since 2009. She brings many years of diverse experience to her role as facilitator and is focused on helping each client find their own best path. 

“We are going to look at the big employment picture. Helping people identify their skills, interests and strengths, explore learning options by checking out training, software, courses, all kinds of micro-credentials that will build on your existing strengths and capabilities. We will work together to identify opportunities in the labour market, how to best service barriers and create a plan to launch your future business the way you need it to work.”


Meet Your Facilitator: Karina Allis

Karina Allis is your Sparking Opportunities facilitator. 

If you have a permanent or recurring physical, mental, neurodevelopmental, or any other barrier or disability that restricts your ability to perform daily activities and require assistance to prepare for, obtain and keep employment or self-employment, or advance your career, you may be eligible.

We offer service in English, Spanish & Filipino.

Sparking Opportunities is available in the West Kootenay & Boundary region

- Essential skills workshops
- Psychological first aid
- Entrepreneurial assessment
- Start-up training
- Communications & marketing training Financial training
- Counselling sessions
- Holistic supports such as yoga, art therapy, equine-assisted learning & mindfulness
- Get financial support to purchase a laptop

Access short term training specific for your needs:

"I feel I can better represent myself when interacting with a supervisor or co-worker. I feel more confident of how to express myself better. I am feeling more positive. I would recommend this workshop for sure. I found it very enjoyable and encouraging." 

Sparking Opportunities

The Skills Centre is partnering with the Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy (CBAL) to deliver the new program throughout the Kootenay and Boundary regions.

This new program is now available and will run for two years in 16 communities across the Columbia Basin and Boundary regions.

![](https://files.benecms.com/skillscentre/media/In%20part%20-%20English.png)

A 2 year partnership

Navigating the financial supports available to people living with low income means filling out forms, answering personal questions, reading and signing documents—actions that can be over-complicated to the client trying to get the service.

Financial Navigation will help empower adults and families living with low income to improve their financial wellbeing. We will help you increase in your knowledge of the benefits to which you are entitled and help you improve your ability to access them.

Helping people living with low income

- Do you know all of the financial empowerment services for people living with low income in your community?
- Are you giving clients all the information on financial supports they may be eligible to receive?
- Join us in sharing best practices for offering financial empowerment to people in living with low income. Build stronger partnerships in your community and offer the best service to your clients living with low income.
- This program will share information, tools, resources and best practices so that you can be the best source of help for people living with low income and struggling with understanding all of the financial services out there.

Helping service providers, too

Financial Navigation Training

**“I started with running a daycare, then I taught elementary school, and now I’m working with adults,”** Tina Caputo says happily. Happy, smiling and enthusiastic are the best ways to describe Tina’s first few days at the Skills Centre. She’s our newest project specialist and is eager to start working with clients.

You could certainly call Tina a local. She grew up in Fruitvale, went to high school in Rossland, and now lives in Trail. She’s been very involved in minor hockey for the past seven years in various roles and currently is the West Kootenay governor of U15. 

“I quite like it. It’s one of the highlights of the day for me,” she says of her hockey commitments.

Tina has been an elementary teacher on call for the past six years and brings her experience in education as well as on the teachers’ union board to her new role.

She will be working primarily with our new [Emerging Tech program for youth ages 17 to 29](https://skillscentre.ca/how-we-help/skills-training/2). She has taken extensive training at Selkirk College in their computer information systems program and has experience working with teens. She also delivered the Applied Design Skills & Technology curriculum in local elementary schools for a year. The ADST program included introducing kids to Tinkercad, virtual reality programming and 3D printing, all technologies that youth might want to explore in Emerging Tech.

“It’s exciting to be at the start of a new program and help people become more comfortable with a new technology,” she says. “Often when people are reluctant about something it’s because they don’t understand it. Once they try it and become comfortable learning it, that changes.”

Tina will be helping young people with intakes for [Emerging Tech](https://skillscentre.ca/how-we-help/skills-training/2) through the summer with training starting in September. If you’re interested in exploring the latest technologies and how they’ll help you in your career, [contact Tina today](mailto:tcaputo@skillscentre.ca).


Welcome Tina, our newest project specialist

Bethel Torres

Inspiring Wellness & Learning Assistant

Did you know our logo represents diverse people connecting and supporting each other? We're here to help you.

Our program facilitators have your best interests in mind. They are caring, capable & trained to help you succeed. We know you have questions. Tina is your facilitator for the Emerging Tech program. Contact our office today to find out how we can help you.

Meet your facilitators

What skills will you need for the future? Bring us your ideas for jobs using the latest technology, including:

- Web development
- Coding
- Drones
- Software or hardware
- Design
- Solar panels
- Smart devices
- Programming
- Data
- Green jobs
- & more

How do you define emerging technology?

**We'll build a training plan with you around any job in emerging tech - bring us your ideas!**

You can take this training to add a micro credential or additional training to your existing skillset so you’re better prepared for the greening economy.

> For example, if you are an electrician, you could take a course in solar panels or if you build houses, a course in passive homes.

You can also access workshops on soft skills including communication, interpersonal skills, meeting employer expectations, customer service, problem solving, coping skills (such as stress, shift work), health and wellness, mental health & self-care, and safety on the job.

> We're looking at all angles of creativity & innovation. We'll talk about equity, diversity and inclusion, teamwork, collaboration, culturally specific conflict resolution strategies, and you can access up to 3 sessions of Medicine Wheel Coaching.

Skills Training

Pearson Vue Test Facility

The Pearson Vue Testing Facility offers:

Online testing and certification

Inquire today