Finding the confidence to learn new skills and take the steps to getting a job is at the core of four new employment programs at the Skills Centre.
“The programs all have a crucial element of building people’s confidence to take the steps they need to find the job they want,” says Jaime Malcolm, programs manager.
The four new programs address different labour market needs. The programs are: Brave Beginnings for Newcomers, HEART (Healing through Equine Assistance & Resiliency Training), Spark Your Start-Up, and Tools for Trades.
“HEART is about helping women heal to get to the stage where they can look at re-entering the workforce with the confidence and skills to succeed. Brave Beginnings for Newcomers helps recent immigrants build the skills and confidence to find work, and it’s amazing that our staff have the diversity to offer this service in five languages,” she adds.
Tools for Trades helps youth, Indigenous people, women and other members of under-represented groups take the training they need to get into the trades. Options include enrolling in the Trades Foundation Program at Selkirk College or taking short courses and completing job placements, all with the support of a facilitator at the Skills Centre and financial supports to make it happen.
Spark Your Start-Up introduces youth to the process of creating a business concept and the steps to starting and running their own business.
“The Skills Centre provides workplace training services and social development programming to our community members, including the most vulnerable and isolated among us. These four programs address some of the biggest skills gaps we see in our communities,” Malcolm says.
“People in the Kootenays will have the chance to launch themselves into new careers with more training opportunities at the Skills Centre,” said Katrine Conroy, MLA for Kootenay West and Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. “The work being done at the Skills Centre will enhance our workforce, lead to good-paying jobs, and help our small businesses find qualified, skilled employees when they’re so in demand. This is great news for our local economies and communities, and I’m grateful that as a government, we’re able to support these initiatives.”
Funding for the programs comes through B.C.’s Economic Recovery Plan through the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training, the Industry Training Authority (ITA) and the Government of Canada through the Canada-British Columbia Workforce Development Agreement.
