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Friday, November 15, 2013
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Victoria ramps up aid for Philippines Don Descoteau News staff
Anyone dropping by the Bayanihan Community Centre on Blanshard Street on a Tuesday would usually find a locked door. Not today. The cultural home of the Victoria Filipino Canadian Association is working in overdrive to accept donations for disaster relief in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, which has left tens of thousands of residents in the Philippines homeless and at least 2,000 dead. Orlando Tuapin, a native Filipino and a congregation member at Central Baptist Church, is at the centre to find out how his church can help raise funds. “I know my family is safe,” he said, having spoke to his mother who lives on the northern island of Luzon, earlier in the day. He teared up as he described seeing news reports showing the devastation in areas of the archipelago. “People are scattered like chickens over the ground. You feel helpless. We’re all humans.” Adding to the misery of residents, he said, an area of central Philippines was just picking itself up after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake rocked the region. “They probably think it’s the end of the world.” Please see: Residents, Page A10
Edward Hill/News staff
Beth Grayer builds a toolbox for her women in trades discovery program at Camosun College Interurban, where students sample a number of trades. The province recently announced funding to boost the number of seats at Camosun that allow students to experience trades training without having to secure an apprenticeship.
Easing entry into trades training Pre-apprenticeship programs help trades students find their niche Edward Hill News staff
In Camosun College’s sheet metal workshop, students hammer and contort metal for HVAC systems and toolboxes. Whether they stick with this trade remains to be seen, but the college and the province are trying to make entry into trades education as easy and enticing as possible. The Ministry of Advanced Education
announced recently that it is granting Camosun $349,000 for 68 seats in carpentry and electrical foundation programs, introductory trades training without the onerous requirement of securing an apprenticeship. That ministry funding also opens 32 seats in the discovery skills program, a pilot project where students dip their toes in a number of trades at the Interurban campus. “What is intended here is to provide the opportunity to have a more informed entry into trades,” said Olaf Nielsen, chair of trades development and special projects at Camosun. “This helps make a more informed career decision.” Ministry of Advanced Education-funded seats adds to the 336 funded by the Industry
Training Authority at Camosun for foundation programs. The ITA focuses mainly on apprenticeships, and funded 1,812 of those seats at the college this year. Nielsen said foundation programs help expose more people to less well known but still highly employable trades. “A lot of individuals don’t have a good picture of the pathways into trades. A lot gravitate towards traditional trades,” he said. “We see some undersubscribed programs where there’s not a lot of awareness, like pipe trades, for example. A lot of students don’t know about being a steamfitter or gas fitter.” Please see: Apprenticeships, Page A6 REDUCED TO $224,900
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