BCBusiness

P r o m o t e d C o n t e n t is the key role in the whole success of the skilled trades system," Herman says. Employers who support apprentices are eligible for provincial and federal income tax credits, with additional credits available to employers of First Nations apprentices. Olaf Nielsen, chair of trades development and special projects at Camosun College in Victoria, notes that the current outlook for skilled trades presents unprecedented opportunities. The industry's vibrancy is evident not just in remote regions but also in metropolitan areas, where the number of job openings is increasing. "What's really great about the National Shipbuilding Procurement Stratešy is that this represents a workforce capacity within our urban areas," Nielsen says. "These provide opportunities for local stability. With the shipbuilding opportunity for Seaspan's shipyard in North Vancouver, we're going to see the ripple effect impacting the Victoria shipyards as well." He sees other shifts in the skilled trades industry occurring. One is resurgence in construction trades, as a result of the need for plants and other infrastructure for projects such as LNG and the Site C dam. "There's opportunity for new workers coming into that sector and also for individuals who may be migrating back following some instability," Nielsen explains. There's an increase in the volume of apprentices returning to school to upgrade their skills, and of people who may not have considered the trades as a career but who are now turning to them, such as women and First Nations. "In the last few years there have been very strong initiatives sponsored through the Labour Market Agreement dollars, administered by the ITA, in women's and Aboriginals' trades training," Nielsen says. "During that time we've seen close to 500 participants come through those trades programs alone." The largest trades-technološy institution on Vancouver Island, Camosun College is the leading regional provider of skilled workers for the local shipbuilding, automotive, nautical and sustainable construction industries. This fall, the college's new Trades Education & Innovation Complex will open. TheŸ$35-million project is the largest capital trades education project in B.C., withŸ250,000 square feet of new and renovated classroom and lab space, and 18 new or redeveloped trades labs—an investment that reflects the industry's importance and promise. As the skilled trades industry itself evolves, so do educational approaches. Online and mobile learning, as well as other innovations, are helping reach and train the skilled tradespeople of tomorrow. Consider Camosun's E¤PPRENTICE Cook program. The technical training takes place online rather than in a classroom setting, which is the norm for traditional trades training. Educational institutions are also •inding new ways to deliver training. For example, Camosun recently partnered with the Nuxalk First Nation to launch a carpentry apprenticeship program to students in Bella Coola. "Finding housing, the cost of travel and coming from a small community to a larger, urban area can be very daunting," Nielsen says. "We're bringing the training to them." Northwest Community College ( NWCC) in Terrace, meanwhile, is reaching out to communities such as Haida Gwaii, Prince Rupert and those in the Nass Valley. "We don't have welding shops in every one of our communities, so we have tried to be innovative in the ways we partner with school districts," says Brent Speidel, NWCC's dean of trades. "In an era where declining enrolment has hit just about everybody, there is an excess of space in many schools, so we're working with them to revamp their shop space into spaces that meet industry standards for trades training." The college has developed millwright and electrical shops in some smaller towns. It has simulators in trailers that travel to remote regions. There's also the potential for a larger mobile trades trailer that will expand at the sides to become a 1,000-square- foot workshop complete with welding, carpentry, electrical and other tools. Some careers are ones that people may not even consider to be part of the skilled trades, such as culinary arts. In fact, chefs and cooks are expected to have the largest de•icit of workers by 2020, with as many as 400 workers being required to •ill the unmet demand. "The workforce marches on its stomach," Speidel says. "You have these camps with 2,000 people all over the place to build pipelines and construction projects; somebody's got to feed them." Camps also have an ongoing need for maintenance staff, notes Mike Gilbert, community development of•icer with the Fort Nelson–based Northern Rockies Regional Municipality ( NRRM). In that region, forestry, oil and gas, tourism and agriculture are all sectors that are going to see escalating demand for skilled trades. Tourism requires dozens of skilled trades: engineers and heavy equipment operators, among others, to establish and maintain transportation infrastructure; mechanics, professional drivers, pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, and radio and telephone technicians to maintain and operate transportation and communications equipment; and chefs and bakers to keep the hospitality sector operating. Located in a region that is home to one of the few remaining green baskets of timber in the province that hasn't been severely affected by the pine beetle, the NRRM has launched a Forestry The demand for trained chefs and cooks is going heat up over the next several years

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