Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond talks with students at the O’Brien Training Centre Friday

Prince George, B.C. – The provincial and federal governments have teamed up to provide up to 52 British Columbians from Prince George, Fort St. James, and Kelowna the training they need to become cooks and professional log truck operators.

The partnership is part of the Canada-B.C. Job Fund Agreement and provided about $650,000 to the Metis Nation of B.C. (MNBC) and the Canadian Vocational Training Centre for two training projects.

Prince George MLAs Mike Morris and Shirley Bond met with project partners, students and staff in the Professional Log Truck Operator program in Prince George Friday.

Of the total funding, the B.C. government has allocated about $314,000 to the Metis Nation of B.C. to train 12 Aboriginal, woman and other participants to become log truck operators. The classroom lessons are taught in Prince George with practicums in Fort St. James.

To deliver the program the MNBC has partnered with forestry industry training provider O’Brien Training.

In addition to the log truck operator program, the Province has provided about $336,000 to the Canadian Vocational Training Centre (CVTC) to deliver the Cooking Up Jobs program to 40 participants from Prince George and Kelowna.

The training will prepare participants for jobs such as line or prep cooks. To deliver the program the CVTC has partnered with the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 43 to give participants hands-on training in the kitchens.

These training projects are part of an investment of more than $12 million for 49 training projects benefitting approximately 2,000 British Columbians throughout the province.

One enthusiastic student in the program is Deane Carlson of Fraser Lake who’s in the process of completing her log truck operating training.

After previous work in a mill and mine she says she’s leaning towards a career hauling chips.

“It’s an excellent program, everyone is great and I have an awesome instructor.”

Morris says the training partnership is “great news for employers as well as residents in our community.”

“Because of the detailed training, they’re receiving, the students will be ready to start their careers after completing their programs.”

Bond says programs like this help the province prepare for nearly one million expected job openings by 2025.

“Investment in skills training is essential to keep our economy diverse, strong and growing, benefitting both B.C. job seekers and employers.”