 |
|
KELOWNA – Government is investing $1 million in a training partnership with Okanagan College and small business to help British Columbia’s fast-growing small business sector compete for and retain needed workers, Small Business and Revenue Minister Rick Thorpe has announced.
“As the Small Business Roundtable recommended, we are bringing together small business and educational partners to develop a training program that meets the needs of Canada’s fastest-growing small business sector,” said Thorpe. “Helping small businesses retain, train and recruit the workers they need is essential to future growth and our goal to make British Columbia Canada’s most small business friendly jurisdiction.”
In its first-year report released last October, the province’s permanent Small Business Roundtable noted it had consulted hundreds of “enthusiastic and positive” small business owners and operators in all regions of British Columbia. The report identified access to skilled labour as a major issue and recommended government broadly “support human resource access, development and education.” A key, related recommendation was to “promote business education courses throughout the province” by leveraging training partnerships with public- and private-sector partners.
“Government’s investment, and the direct involvement of small business leaders, will lead to better access and more relevant education programming and services for both small business and students seeking a future in this growing sector,” said Jim Hamilton, president of Okanagan College. The college’s School of Business will co-ordinate development of the program’s curriculum and public-private partnerships for program delivery across British Columbia.
The BC Chamber of Commerce, Okanagan College, the Small Business Roundtable, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Retail BC and the Ministry of Small Business and Revenue will steer development of the new training initiative. It will focus on filling gaps in existing business education and skill-development programs through public-private partnerships. The program will target specifically the current and future needs of employers and employees, reflecting the need of small business to compete for workers as never before.
“Small business faces some unique barriers to on-the-job training, and retention of skilled employees will become more difficult over time,” said John Winter, president and CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce. “This public-private partnership will develop and implement an innovative training program targeted specifically to the needs of the small business sector and small business owners themselves.”
“Small businesses have told us they need affordable, accessible training in key areas, ranging from start-up financing, to exporting, to succession planning,” said Linda Larson, vice chair of the Roundtable. “When you invest in relevant skills, you increase the likelihood of people starting, succeeding and remaining in small business.”
In Phase 1 of the program’s development, a steering committee of key small business leaders will assess opportunities, research existing programs and set aggressive timelines for on-the-ground action.
“Developing a skilled workforce and clear paths for young people seeking to enter and grow in small business is critical to the future of the Okanagan and British Columbia, where small business provides more than half our private-sector jobs,” said Sindi Hawkins, MLA for Kelowna-Mission.
“British Columbia’s unemployment is at a 31-year low, so it’s more important than ever to excite young minds about the career opportunities small business presents as a driving force in our economy,” said Al Horning, MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country.
Co-op and internship opportunities will be explored to provide workers with the skills they need and to help small businesses recruit and retain the skilled workers they need to keep growing.
“This funding is a reflection of our government’s steadfast commitment, since 2001, to small business as a driving force in British Columbia’s thriving economy,” said Thorpe.
-30-
|
contact: |
Communications Director 250 387-4193 |
|
|
|
||
|
For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
||
