November 25, 2011 

The upcoming New Year may mean a new start for unemployed workers in northern B.C. thanks to free courses offered by the Continuing Studies program at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC). Starting in January, the Employment Skills Access Program is providing courses in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Wildland Firefighting through funding from the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Agreement.

“This is UNBC’s third year offering the Program and so far we’ve seen around 50 percent of participants secure employment after completion,” says UNBC Continuing Studies Coordinator Rob Bryce. “During the wildfire season, many firefighting contractors come to us looking for our class lists because they need to hire people with exactly the training and skill-set offered in the Wildland Firefighting course. Both programs offer highly sought-after training.”

To be eligible for either program, workers must be unemployed and have been without employment insurance for three years, or be employed, but lacking sufficient training or skills to make meaningful progress in today’s job market.

The GIS program is designed to help participants meet the requirements of natural resource industries, the public sector, and First Nations organizations in the growing field of Geographic Information Systems. The Program serves to fill a growing demand among employers for entry-level GIS technician skills. The certificate-level course is full-time and runs from January 9 through April 13, 2012. The application deadline is December 1, 2011.

The Wildland Firefighting Training Program provides participants with the skills to gain employment as a wildland firefighter in B.C. This training provides the qualifications necessary to bring participants up to a Type II provincial standard. The itinerary runs over three weeks and takes place on all three UNBC campuses:

• Terrace: March 26 - April 24 (application deadline: February 24)
• Quesnel: May 7 - 28 (deadline: April 6)
• Prince George: June 4 - 22 (deadline: May 4)

Under the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Agreement, signed in 2008, the Government of Canada agreed to provide the Province of BC with approximately $66 million annually until 2013-14. These funds are meant to increase training for individuals who are low-skilled and require essential skills, or who require recognized credentials to reach their full potential.

For information about either program, please call Rob Bryce 960.5980. For information on all of UNBC’s Continuing Studies programs, visit www.unbc.ca/continuingstudies.