THURSDAY May 8, 2014 Vol. 29• No. 37 ••• $1.25 inc. G.S.T.
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SERENITY
Bowman not yet sure how BC’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint will affect funding at NIC
which skills and which jobs are we talking about because there’s one million job openings projected North Island College is seeking over the next decade, but those details about exactly which pro- million jobs include health care grams will be targeted for fund- and business … I mean it’s across ing as per BC’s Skills for Jobs all sectors,” said Bowman. “The provinBlueprint. cial labour marLaunched Much of what is ket encompasses last week, the trades, business, 52-page docu- in the blueprint we managerial, social ment is high-levare already doing in services, in some el and focuses on areas social worktrades training, terms of aligning our ers are in very with one of the programs with labour high demand … main changes early childhood being that within market needs and educators are in four years, 25 per high-demand occupabig demand on cent of post-sections. Vancouver Island, ondary institutions’ operating John Bowman p a r t i c u l a r l y in some of our grants must be smaller, rural and targeted to programs leading to ‘high-demand’ aboriginal communities — will jobs. (Visit www.bcjobsplan.ca/ those programs qualify under the skills target? We don’t know.” getskills/ to view the blueprint.) He said the college already Further details about which programs will be targeted haven’t focuses on aligning its programs yet been released to the college, with market demands, noting a according to NIC president John large part of NIC’s mission is to prepare students for jobs. Bowman. “When they say skills for jobs, ... see BLUEPRINT ■ A4 Renee Andor Record Staff
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Health care workers vote to strike Scott Stanfield Record Staff
Members of 11 unions representing health-care workers last week voted 96 per cent in favour of strike action. On Thursday, negotiations for a new collective agreement covering 47,000 employees will resume, with the assistance of
mediator Vince Ready. A collective agreement with the Health Employers Association of B.C. expired March 31. Bargaining began in January and broke off late-March. At issue is employment security, protection of benefits, and improved health and safety provisions.
BRIAN
PHOTO BY ERIN HALUSCHAK
A calm spring evening supplied the setting for a spectacular photo op along the Courtenay estuary.
... see STRIKE ■ A6
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