Sept 9 BC Chamber Public Affairs Update

Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour Shirley Bond has named Jessica McDonald as independent review lead (IRL) for the review of the Industry Training Authority (ITA), announced last month.

Starting this week, McDonald will meet with the ITA board and senior staff, as well as a range of government, post-secondary, industry and labour stakeholders. She will seek advice and input on the ITA and B.C.’s trades-training system generally, and examine best practices in other jurisdictions.

In conducting the review, Minister Bond has directed the IRL to:

• encourage frank and open discussion among all trades training and industry stakeholders in BC;
• ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that the partners, industry stakeholders, employers and apprentices consulted as part of the review represent all regions of the province; and
• make recommendations that will strengthen the current system without creating undue disruption to the ongoing recruitment, training and credentialing of the skilled workers that B.C.’s economy needs.

The ITA review will begin effective immediately, and the final report will be released publicly. Individuals who would like to provide input can do so directly through ITA.Review@gov.bc.ca.

Statistics Canada is reporting that British Columbia’s unemployment rate dropped in August as the province’s economy gained some part-time jobs.

B.C.’s unemployment rate fell 0.1 per cent to 6.6 per cent from where it stood in July, and remains below the national unemployment rate of 7.1 per cent.

Of the 6,200 net jobs gained, most were part-time positions in the food services and accommodation sectors.

Nationally, the jobless rate fell to 7.1 per cent in August from 7.2 per cent the previous month, with most of the 59,000 net jobs created in part-time work.

This weekly report produced for the BC Chamber of Commerce by Fleishman-Hillard.  While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information included in this publication as of the date of issue, events and government policies are subject to frequent change.  Therefore, the BC Chamber of Commerce and Fleishman-Hillard cannot assume any responsibility for actions taken solely or principally on the basis on the information contained herein.