Friday June 17, 2022 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Graduates of veterinary assistant diploma training at the Surrey campus of Insignia College in Delta will be supported with half a million dollars from the BC government toward landing their first job. The program is additionally targeted at helping recent immigrants to BC to find work.
Participants will receive 17 weeks of occupational and employability skills training, four weeks of local work experience and one week of followup support to assist in their job search.
The funding was announced today by Nicholas Simons, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, together with Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training Anne Kang.
Minister of Agriculture and Food, Lana Popham, was also supportive: “This investment is important to everyone caring for animals and for the workers who will be able to access well-paying jobs as veterinary assistants,” she said in a news release today.
Also on the jobs side of things, the Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation (and MLA for Delta North) Ravi Kahlon weighed in: Through this investment, we are giving people who recently immigrated to this province the opportunity and skills to join the workforce and take part in an exciting career helping animals. By making sure all British Columbians, including new ones, are future ready, we are creating a StrongerBC for everyone,” Kahlon stated in today’s release.
Completing skills training and work experience with enhanced support is exciting for Insignia College, said their CEO Sahaj Sandhu.
The first intake starts next week, for the period June 20 to November 18, 2022. The second intake will run September 5, 2022 to February 10, 2023. A third intake will run November 21, 2022 to May 5, 2023.
