Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media /

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Provincial election pledge

B.C. Premier Eby visits Chilliwack Thursday to pledge additional funding for trade apprentice seats

Sep 26, 2024 | 9:46 AM

CHILLIWACK — As a way of encouraging more people to enter the skilled trades industry and connect them with high-paying jobs to fight rising costs, Premier David Eby paid a visit to Chilliwack Thursday morning (Sept. 26) to announce a $150 million investment over three years to double trade apprentice seats in British Columbia.

According to a news release from the B.C. NDP communications team, Eby made the multi-million dollar pledge at the new LiUNA (Labourers International Union of North America) and Teamsters training facility at 7991 Venture Place in Chilliwack, seeking to double the number of people who can train for higher-wage, family-supporting jobs in the skilled trades to build hospitals and homes.

“British Columbians deserve affordable homes, good schools, and modern hospitals–and many are looking for opportunities that will help them get better paying jobs,” said Eby. “By training more people for great careers in the skilled trades, we’ll help them get ahead and give them the skills they need to build the things our growing province needs. The same projects John Rustad is planning to cancel.”

Eby acknowledged the soaring cost of housing, inflation and other essentials during his remarks Thursday morning, but countered that by saying the antidote is to facilitate more people working in the higher-paying trades sector.

The Canadian Press released Thursday a list of changes in components of the consumer price index in B.C. since 2017, the year the B.C. NDP came to power, with the index based on 2002 cost levels being set at 100 points. Overall the index was up 21 per cent in B.C., and 20.1 per cent in all of Canada. The Canadian Press said food costs were up 28.6 per cent, rented homes were up 23.3 per cent, owned homes rose 28.6 per cent, while transportation costs rose 23.3 per cent, since 2017.

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Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media / Premier David Eby with trades workers Thursday morning in Chilliwack.

Eby’s plan would double the trade apprentice seats from the current 26,000 to over 50,000. This commitment, he claims, will ensure trainers and educators are available for all British Columbians wanting to start a good-paying career in the skilled trades. Apprenticeships that will be covered include training to become a bricklayer, industrial electrician, machinist, plumber, and many other trades.

“If we are going to build the critical infrastructure B.C. requires like hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and transit, we need more highly skilled and certified tradespeople,” said Brynn Bourke, executive director of the BC Building Trades Council. “This new funding will allow trades training providers like our joint boards to develop the next generation of trades workers. Trades training funding is vital to the future of this province.”

The B.C. NDP says Eby’s plan builds on the new made-in-B.C. Skilled Trades Certification that equips tradespeople with a recognized certification, so they have consistent work and can quickly move to the next job after a project ends. The new certification encourages more people to choose a career in the trades to support employers and fix labour shortages, thereby providing more opportunities for women, Indigenous people, and young people in the process.