With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1471305
Created by the Canada Wide Media advertising department in partnership with Simon Fraser University SFU Trains for the Future E very year, convocation ceremonies are a time for celebration across BC's post-secondary sector, as we honour the achievements of our graduates. This year, graduates are entering the workforce during a time of great uncertainty—but also a time of great potential and opportunity. Labour forecasts tell us that 80% of new job openings in BC over the next decade will require post-secondary education and training. These needs will apply to jobs in all sectors across our economy and in every region of the province. With this in mind, the provincial government has put talent development and skills at the heart of its most recent economic plan. Students know the value of a post-secondary education; surveys consistently find that soon after graduating, BC students are satisfied with their degrees and working in fields of their choosing. And in turn, BC's universities, colleges and institutes are stepping up to the challenge of providing students with forward- looking programming that prepares them for the jobs of tomorrow. For example, SFU's Executive MBA in Indigenous and Business Leadership integrates the core concepts of most MBA programs with traditional knowledge, cultural protocols, and history specific to Indigenous communities. Graduates of this program go on to contribute to Nation-building, self-determination, and economic reconciliation in their communities. SFU's School of Sustainable Engineering, a program unique to Western Canada, prepares students for jobs in the growing fields of cleantech and renewable energy. And the new Quantum Algorithms Institute on SFU's Surrey campus is positioning BC as a world leader in the fast-emerging field of quantum computing technology—poised to train students for jobs that don't even exist yet. But SFU is not alone in our endeavor to fill the talent gap. BC's post-secondary system is highly integrated and well regarded in Canada and around the world. For generations, it has been a powerful engine of social and economic mobility that provides world-class education to hundreds of thousands of students each year and generates billions of dollars in economic activity. Our students may be graduating into a world of uncertainty, but they do so with the skills and training they need to meet the biggest challenges of our time. And BC's post-secondary sector is continuing to innovate and support our students as we work together toward building a more sustainable, inclusive and innovative future for all British Columbians. Learn more about how SFU is training for the future. sfu.ca SFU's programs prepare students today for the careers of tomorrow SFU'S QUANTUM ALGORITHMS INSTITUTE (QAI) OPENS UP NEW ECONOMIC AND SCIENTIFIC FRONTIERS. STUDENTS AT SFU'S SCHOOL OF SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING LEARN TO BECOME GLOBAL LEADERS IN CLEANTECH. @simonfraseruniversity school/simon-fraser-university/ @SFU INDIGENOUS BUSINESS LEADERSHIP PROGRAM DIRECTOR ALEXIA MCKINNON WORKS WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND COMMUNITIES TO SUPPORT ECONOMIC INNOVATION