October 4, 2004 for immediate release

The University of Northern British Columbia today released An Education and Training Needs Assessment for the Oil and Gas Sector, the third in a series of publications about BC offshore oil and gas.

The UNBC-funded report, initiated and produced by Northwest CommunityCollege (NWCC), researched career and business opportunities associatedwith offshore oil and gas. It then recommended how NWCC can meet theexpected education and training needs.

"In order for positive economic and entrepreneurial benefits to flowfrom potential offshore oil and gas exploration, local people will haveto ensure they are trained and prepared to take advantage ofopportunities," said Beth Davies, NWCC's Vice-President, Education andStudent Support

"The very specialized skills, talents and trades demanded by theoffshore oil and gas industry tend to lead to the importing of ahighly-skilled, highly-mobile workforce unlikely to settle here andhelp build communities for the long term," said Norman Dale, ProgramManager with UNBC's Northern Coastal Information and Research Program(NCIRP). "NWCC and others can help ensure action is taken to challengethis otherwise strong tendency. Doing so could lead to significantlybetter outcomes for local people and local economies."

This research report is the third in the NCIRP series, UNBCCommunity-Collaborative Studies on British Columbia Offshore Oil andGas. NCIRP is a program of UNBC's Northern Land Use Institute. Fundingwas provided by the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines.

Copies of An Education and Training Needs Assessment for the Oil and Gas Sector,as well as other NCIRP publications, can be downloaded fromwww.unbc.ca/nlui/ncirp or ordered at cost from Peggy Crough: fax (250)960-5545 email croughp@unbc.ca