Job seekers in the South Okanagan are among the more than 5,500 British Columbians receiving the training they need for employment in their communities, thanks to an investment of nearly $36 million from the federal and provincial governments under the Canada-British Columbia Job Fund.

Contracts with 63 service providers to deliver targeted skills training programs across B.C. have been finalized. The programs offered in the South Okanagan include:

·Bowman Employment Services: Get Youth Working for Youth in the Thompson-Okanagan. The program provides three months of entry-level job placements in early-childhood assistant, cashier and construction fields. Available in Penticton, Summerland, Peachland, Naramata, Okanagan Falls, Oliver and Osoyoos.

·Bowman Employment Services: Get Youth Working for Youth in the Kootenay Region. This program provides three-months of on-the-job training in entry-level job placements in construction-related occupations. Program is offered in Grand Forks.

·British Columbia Construction Association: Skilled Trades Employment Program (STEP). This one-to-one construction employment placement in the Thompson-Okanagan provides workplace supports, short-term certificate training, job placement connections and promotion of apprenticeships. Available in Penticton and surrounding communities.

“These programs could be just what young job seekers need to find family-supporting careers,” Penticton MLA Dan Ashton said. “Our government will continue to invest in skills training to keep our province’s economy growing and meet the needs of the changing labour market.”

“Training programs such as these are necessary because retirements and economic growth mean almost one million job openings will be available over the next eight years,” Boundary-Similkameen MLA Linda Larson said. “I want our region’s young people to earn those jobs, and these programs will set them in that direction.”