BC Colleges Launches New Website - demonstrates how BC’s colleges can help BC avoid the pending skills gap.
(VICTORIA, BC) February 25, 2013 | Today BC Colleges launched a new website designed to give more prominence to the important role BC’s 11 public colleges play to educate and train British Columbians and help BC avoid a predicted skills gap. The new website features an “info-graphic” video called “Mind the Skills Gap” that explains how the combination of an aging workforce and a growing knowledge based economy will result in labour shortages unless we prepare our workforce appropriately. In fact, right now, no less than 30% of businesses and industry indicate they can’t get people with the right skills to meet demand- that’s 1 in every 3- twice what it was in 2010. Plus, recent BC Labour Market forecasts indicate that there will be more than one million job openings between now and 2020 and 78 per cent of these openings will require some form of post-secondary education. “The largest portion of job openings, 42 per cent, will require college education or trade certification,” states Jim Reed, President of BC Colleges. “What it boils down to is unless we make advanced skills and education training a priority we will have people without jobs and jobs without people because we won’t have enough people with the right skills to fill those jobs,” adds Reed. “Our new website is designed to highlight how BC’s colleges help to address the skills gap by preparing a highly skilled and talented workforce in every region of BC,” says Angus Graeme, President of Selkirk College and Chair, BC Colleges. “Our colleges are BC’s most affordable and accessible pathway to post-secondary education. Colleges provide British Columbians from all walks of life the opportunity to get the skills and education needed to fill job vacancies.” The new BC Colleges website provides up to date facts on the BC public college system, connects visitors to the latest BC labour market information and highlights key initiatives undertaken by BC’s colleges. -30- Media contact: Red CAB Communications Suggested Tweet: BC Colleges launches new website that shows how BC’s colleges help BC avoid the pending skills gap http://ht.ly/hW3Uf #MindtheSkillsGap |