Skilled trades become choice path in Canada's B.C. province
Xinhua, February 21, 2015 Adjust font size:
The Canadian province of British Columbia will see a surge in job openings in the next seven years due to a large wave of retirement and new development, with many of these openings in skilled trades such as plumbing and pipe-fitting.
The provincial government said recently that 680,000 baby-boomers were set to retire by 2022, while 100,000 new jobs were expected as a result of the province's proposed development and production of liquefied natural gas.
Students in B.C. are now getting the message that trades are often cheaper and quicker to get, and could be a more promising path to a good career than toiling for years in university.
Some trade schools in Vancouver are starting to enroll more students and have expand programs so as to meet demand from employers in western Canada.
Brian Haugen, Dean of Faculty of Trades and Technology in Kwantlen Polytechnic University, said that as trades have become more popular and accepted in the main stream, they're getting a huge demand for people coming into their schools to take those opportunities.
For some courses, the applicants even have to wait for one-to-two years before finally enrolled, he added.
He said local and international students were changing their attitudes about trades, which used to be considered less prestigious than a university degree.
Money in the trades is also very good, ranging from around 70,000 CAD (56,000 U.S. dollars) a year, to over six figures, depending on where he or she lives.
The line between trades and technology is becoming more blurred these days. Rajkaran Randhawa, an international student, told Xinhua he came to B.C. to learn digital drafting technology - a skill that could lead him to a variety of career options such as engineering or architecture.
"I think more weight is given to trades programs here... And my uncle works in an engineering firm and he emphasized that you should go into trades because it's an upcoming field and it's better for me, for my future," he said. Endi