Provincial Skills Deficit Looming in 2016

Media Release

More jobs than qualified people unless post-secondary capacity expanded, northern BC to be particularly hard-hit
A skills and education shortage will hit BC in 2016 unless action is taken now to improve access to all types of post-secondary education – university, college and trades – the presidents of BC’s six major research universities said today.

The presidents pointed to the BC Labour Market Profile released today by the Research Universities’ Council of BC (RUCBC).  Based on the provincial government’s BC Labour Market Outlook, as well as BC Stats and Statistics Canada data, the RUCBC analysis identifies the fact that the number of jobs requiring a post-secondary credential will exceed the supply of available graduates beginning in 2016, a skills deficit that will grow through to at least 2020.

By 2020, approximately 18,800 jobs will go unfilled because British Columbians lack the necessary education and training. Government of BC data indicate that 8,400 of these jobs will require a university degree, 8,100 a college credential, and 2,300 trades training.

“This provincial skills deficit will be exacerbated in our region because the BC Labour Market Outlook predicts that two of the three regions in BC with the fastest rate of employment growth are in Northern BC,” says UNBC President George Iwama. “This is why UNBC is an enthusiastic participant in this effort with other universities, together with our ongoing collaboration with the northern colleges. We must provide spaces, encourage participation, support innovation, and broaden the programming we deliver. It’s critical for the region and it’s critical for our province.”

BC’s universities have put forward an Opportunity Agenda for BC that calls for investment to ensure British Columbians can take full advantage of the opportunities ahead. It has three components:

  1. A space for every qualified student, with 11,000 new student spaces in university, college and trades training over the next four years;
  2. A guarantee for students in need, with resources invested in grants, scholarships and improvements to student loans; and
  3. A commitment to innovation and jobs by establishing an Innovate BC initiative, bringing government, business, and post-secondary institutions together to build on BC’s research and innovation potential, advance new opportunities, and help drive economic growth.

UNBC has been a member of the Research Universities Council of BC since it was established more than a dozen years ago. The other members are the University of BC, the University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University, Royal Roads University, and Thompson Rivers University. RUCBC’s mandate is to identify issues facing the universities, provide system-wide leadership in the development of relevant public policy, and communicate on behalf of the university system.

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