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School's community-linked trades training gives youth a leg up to better-paying jobs.

Fort St. John, a city in an area with a huge need for qualified tradespeople, is dead serious about solving the problem. And the solution starts right at its local high school. Source.

Loggers, sawmill workers on strike

Eight thousand coastal loggers and sawmill workers were told Tuesday to get ready for a strike, after talks broke down Monday between the coast's largest employer group and the United Steelworkers. "Crews in the coastal forest industry should prepare for potential strike action," the United Steelworkers said in a bargaining bulletin sent out Tuesday morning after Forest Industrial Relations, which represents 31 companies, walked away from the negotiating table. The union is also negotiating with three major companies -- Interfor, Island Timberlands and Timberwest Forest -- separately. Those results are mixed.  Source.

University gives tradespeople a lift into management

Thompson Rivers program tries to change the perception of skilled trades, universities. Source.

Safety precautions part of the job, say young workers

Even as WorkSafeBC prepares to launch a campaign to quell what it sees as a startling increase in construction industry injuries, concrete rigger Nigel Carter is happy to be working on his particular jobsite. Source.

Energy sector wages soar

As the energy sector booms in Western Canada, workers in the oil and gas sector are commanding 80-per-cent more in wages than the average Canadian employee, a gap that has widened more than 20 per cent in the past decade, a new study shows. Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that total employment in all oil and gas industries was roughly 298,000 in 2006, a 22-per-cent increase from 1997, slightly faster than the average of 20 per cent for the economy as a whole. Source.

Rebound in Japan creates potential for trade

British Columbia is being warned not to neglect a resurgent Japan in its rush to develop trade with China. Japan already consumes more B.C. products than the rest of Asia combined, and is the province's second biggest export market after the United States. And a new report from the provincial government's Asia Pacific Trade Council sees opportunities to increase value-added resource exports to Japan, as well as commodities such as coal and wood products. Source.

Homeowners are moving on up

If you're looking for an affordable way of life, just sell your home and head north. That's the conclusion of a survey by the B.C. Northern Real Estate Board, which found that despite average house price increases of 30 per cent across northern B.C. last year, owning a home in the region consumes less than half what a homeowner in Vancouver would pay in terms of proportion of household income. Source.

A greener future for BC's building operators

Construction boom spurs demand for people who can efficiently maintain buildings. Article here.

Trades are a first class career

Kwantlen University College officially opened its trades and technology training centre in Cloverdale on Friday -- 17,000 square metres of soaring glass and bright classrooms.  Key trade programs: automotive, electrical, welding, carpentry, millwright, farrier, appliance repair and public-safety 911 communications. Source.

BC's hot sectors

Current and emerging industry sectors facing labour shortages. Please click here for summaries of some of BC’s Hot Sectors: Agriculture, Aquaculture, Call Centers, Arts & Culture,  Construction, Education, Health, Finance Insurance and Real Estate, Forestry, Mining, Oil and Gas, Policing, Professional Services, Technology, Tourism, Trades, Transportation, and Trucking. 

Source: BC Career Management Association