Prince George, BC – A new UNBC Continuing Studies certificate program will connect prospective students with local employers through a unique work and study partnership.

Employers will pay the full tuition and living expenses for students during the academic year in the new Advanced Employment Skills Certificate set to begin in the fall of 2015. Students will work at the sponsoring business during the school year and again during a paid work term in the summer when they are not attending classes.

UNBC Business Development Officer Garth Frizzell and The Exploration Place CEO Tracy Calogheros.
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“UNBC recognized a need from employers to attract, train, and retain workers in traditionally hard-to-fill positions. The Advanced Employment Skills Certificate will give employers opportunities to fill those jobs,” says UNBC Business Development Officer Garth Frizzell.

Students will take a mixture of for-credit undergraduate courses from a variety of academic disciplines as well as relevant certificate-level Continuing Studies programs. Upon completion of the two-year certificate program, students will earn an Advanced Employment Skills Certificate and 30 undergraduate course credits they can apply to a degree if they wish to continue with their studies.

“This is an opportunity for the business community and UNBC Continuing Studies to work together to provide advanced education for students,” says UNBC Director, Ancillary Services and Continuing Studies Aaron LeBlanc. “We have developed a creative funding solution that allows these students to gain work experience in northern British Columbia while they continue their education.”

The Exploration Place museum in Prince George is one of the first organizations to sign on to the program.

“This fall we need two new staff in our curatorial department and the students this program promises to attract will fit those needs,” says The Exploration Place CEO Tracy Calogheros. “The Exploration Place is excited to be one of the first cohort of employers benefiting from the program.”

The program is currently recruiting employers to participate. For more information contact Garth Frizzell at 250-960-5103. Information for prospective students will be available at unbc.ca/continuing-studies once employers are in place.

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