Art show tackles cultural identity page 28
Two from North Delta in WHL final page 32
Thursday May 1, 2014
Serving Surrey and North Delta www.surreyleader.com
Dog suffers stab wounds
B.C. government unveils plan to redirect funds and student aid to jobs in demand
Province launches skills ‘re-engineering’
Trespasser believed to have slashed Belgian shepherd a dozen times by Kevin Diakiw & Tracy Holmes SPIRIT, A SURREY Belgian shepherd, is
by Tom Fletcher
THE B.C. GOVERNMENT has unveiled its plan to match up skills training with emerging jobs in resource development, by redirecting post-secondary funding and financial aid toward occupations in demand. The plan emphasizes industrial skills such as welding, pipefitting, heavy equipment operation, truck driving and concrete finishing, but ministers and officials stressed that it also includes engineering, health care and other occupations where jobs are projected to increase. The main shift for colleges and universities is that within four years, a quarter of their operating grants will be targeted to programs with identified demand from the job market. Employment data will determine post-secondary funding, instead of the tradition of block grants to post-secondary schools. Ministers avoided identifying areas that Shirley Bond will lose funding, but have previously cited far more teaching graduates than there are jobs in the school system. Premier Christy Clark has lamented a system where students receive a bachelor’s degree and then must take additional training to qualify for jobs. Education Minister Peter Fassbender outlined a plan for K-12 schooling that aims to double the number of spaces for high school students taking industrial training in high school to 5,000 in two years. Students Peter Fassbender in these courses get college credits while still in high school, allowing them to go to work more quickly. The ministry is also revamping its kindergarten to Grade 9 curriculum to give it more emphasis on “hands-on learning” and exposing students in earlier grades to the range of jobs they can expect when they graduate. Jobs Minister Shirley Bond said the Industry Training Authority (ITA) will soon get a new board of directors and industry advisory councils to provide up-to-date information on See NDP / Page 8
That’s a tall order
BOAZ JOSEPH / THE LEADER
Princess Margaret Secondary students performed at the sixthannual Breakout Dance Competition at the Chandos Pattison Auditorium on Saturday. The show featured bhangra, hip hop, jazz and contemporary dances by students from throughout the Surrey School District.
nursing knife wounds after a trespasser stabbed it several times Monday. Police were alerted at about 7:30 p.m., when the owner made a frantic report that her dog was under attack. Police believe the perpetrator accessed the residential property – which is also home to a nursery – by scaling perimeter fencing at the front of the lot, which is located in the 12700-block of 58 Avenue. The individual repeatedly stabbed the shepherd – an estimated 12 times – with what is believed to be a pocket knife. The dog was slashed in the muzzle, forehead and suffered a puncture CTV NEWS wound to its neck, police say. Spirit was The knifeseriously injured wielding man ran but is expected to off and has yet to survive. be located. He is described as Caucasian, in his mid-20s, about 5’8” tall with dark hair and a medium build. He was wearing a plaid shirt and may have had a tattoo resembling an ‘S’ on his neck. The dog was initially in serious condition, but is expected to survive. Police collected evidence at the scene, but remain hopeful the trespasser will turn himself in, or that someone will provide details to help identify him. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 or to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
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