The province is investing more than $5.4 million in industry-standard training equipment for trades and tech students at 15 public post-secondary schools across B.C.. Premier John Horgan made the announcement today at Northwest Community College’s Terrace campus March 27.
“We need to make sure you have the recourse’s to get the right training,” Horgan said to an automotive class at the NWCC campus. “We need to make sure you can leave this place and succeed wherever you want to put down your roots.”
The funding is intended to help schools replace obsolete equipment and better respond to changes in the industry and curriculums.
Each of the 15 post-secondary schools will receive between $310,000 and $500,000. With the $310,455 allocated to NWCC, the school has purchased a new table saw with a unique safety feature, a used Prius for its automotive program and a new industrial stove for its professional cook program.
“This investment means many of our trades students will be working on modern equipment and using state-of-the-art tools that position them well for the future,” said NWCC president Ken Burt.
The tech equipment also supports the expansion of tech spaces in the province, which is expected to fund an additional 2,900 tech spaces by 2023.