Province funds CNC trades programs; no help for suspended dental programs

Just two days after the College of New Caledonia announced it will suspend student intakes for the dental assistant and dental hygiene programs, the province coughed up some money for institution.

However, it won’t be for the ailing dental programs.

On Monday, Victoria announced $330,496 for 64 trade seats to reduce wait times for students entering an in-demand trade profession.

Funding will go towards the following programs: Electrical: 16 Foundation seats; millwright: 16 Foundation seats; engineering: 16 Fourth class seats; engineering: 16 Third class seats

“In our rapidly-changing labour market we need to ensure British Columbians have the necessary skills to participate in our growing economy,” Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond said, in a press release. “By providing 64 critical trade seats at CNC, we continue to align skills training with future labour market demands. In doing so, we will help ensure British Columbians are first in line for the one million job openings expected by 2022, two-thirds which are a result of an aging demographic and the remaining one-third will be from anticipated economic growth.”

The CNC board had been looking at a $2.8 million deficit for the upcoming year. In addition to suspending the intakes on the two dental programs, it has also decided to suspend the Aboriginal Early Childhood Education on-line program.

The provincial funding announced Monday is part of a $6.1 million initiative to fund 1,429 additional trade seats this year in 14 public post-secondary institutions throughout the province.