The overarching objective: to re-engineer our education and training system to meet our labour force need and ensure B.C. workers and young people have the right skills to be first in line for new jobs.  With the trades training system front and centre within this new plan, the ITA has needed to undertake a full-scale transformation to support the blueprint and respond to the 29 recommendations from the report.

For the last 12 months, we focused first on recommendations with maximum impact – greater industry engagement and apprenticeship support – to break down barriers to entering B.C.'s apprenticeship system and reach certification.

We transitioned the role of monitoring industry demand and sector needs into the ITA through the creation of Sector Advisory Groups.

Initiated by industry and representing the significant provincial trades sectors, the groups are populated with employers, contractors, labour representatives, and Aboriginal communities involved in apprenticeship and skills training. Their role is to advise the ITA and government on labour needs. We also introduced new Industry Relations Managers, who provide a further direct link between industry and the training system.

This group is charged with providing real time data on sector specific needs and apprenticeship barriers.

Together, these groups are able to better inform the ITA and government on needs and training barriers, and are helping to create a more relevant and nimble skills training system. A direct outcome of this is the new B.C. Construction Craft Worker training program. Identified as an extremely high-demand need to support LNG facility construction projects, the program was developed and launched as a new Red Seal trade this past summer.

Nine training providers have begun piloting the program and we are poised to introduce an Aboriginal Construction Craft Worker program to help support jobs in Aboriginal communities and the north.

Our second area of intense focus has been apprenticeship support. Increasing on-the ground support was a key recommendation of the McDonald Report and we have tripled the number of Apprenticeship Advisors to 15, six with Aboriginal subject-matter expertise.

We also created an LNG Action Plan for Trades Training; launched a new online Apprentice Job Match tool, with 10 information sessions across the province and held a series of 13 regional open houses with Apprenticeship Advisors.

By focusing on industry engagement and apprenticeship support, we have been able to make significant headway on eliminating barriers in the system.

More than 7,000 credentials were handed out last year and we are anticipating positive growth this year.

Working with government and training providers is important. This year, we have addressed how we work with government, the education system, and training providers to support youth entering the trades and align investment with training. A new collaborative model is now in place between the government ministries and agencies that support trades training to share critical data, including labour market information.

By overlaying the demand side of the equation with the supply, we can collectively identify and address the training gaps and move quickly to align investment with need.

The ITA has also been working with the K-12 system to better engage youth. We have taken action on all 29 recommendations and completed over one-third of them.

In the coming year we plan to move further on improving outcomes and focus on building even stronger connections with industry.  ITA has a clear agenda: to effectively deploy training investments to optimize B.C.'s skilled trades labour force, ensuring our skills align with current and projected needs to both sustain and grow our economy.

Gary Herman is CEO of B.C.'s Industry Training Authority and a member of the JOC Editorial Advisory Board. Send comments or questions to editor@journalofcommerce.com.