Dear Sir:
Our provincial government, the BC Liberals, talk a lot about skills training and jobs, but our apprenticeship completion rates are dismal.
With the BC 2015 budget dropping this month, B.C. needs increased funding to colleges and universities to create access for British Columbians to complete apprenticeships.
Now government has proposed plans to cut funding for adult basic education, the very program many students need to enter the trades.
This is a total reversal on the 2007 decision to eliminate tuition fees for adult basic education which was an outcome of the BC government’s Campus 2020 report. This report determined that cost-free upgrading programs is key to providing strong economic future for British Columbia.
Keeping adult basic education free and accessible to British Columbians is an important part of any jobs plan.
Steve Verblac,
Northwest Community College Students’ Union Chairperson,
Terrace, B.C.