Final report released on B.C.s Trade Industry Training Authority

The British Columbia provincial government has completed a review of the Industry Training Authority (ITA) as the Crown Corporation responsible for leading B.C.’s trades training system. That review, conducted by Jessica McDonald, has been released to the public.

The report concludes that B.C.’s trades training system is working. Today, B.C. has twice as many apprentices, and is issuing around three times as many credentials compared to 2004.  But the ITA was created almost 10 years ago, and since then B.C.’s economy has changed considerably.

After consulting with trades training stakeholders throughout the fall of 2013, the final report was submitted to government in February 2014. It sets out 29 recommendations to enhance and strengthen B.C.’s trades training system – all of which have been accepted by government and will be implemented as part of B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint: Re-engineering Education and Training.

Major shifts to the trades training system include:

*Ensuring a demand-driven system that will meet the needs of workers and employers.

*Unifying cross-government decision-making with funding allocated based on labour market information and workforce targets.

*Reconstituting the ITA Board as a strong leadership team to ensure stronger partnerships with industry and labour to deliver training and apprenticeships.

*Holding the ITA and post-secondary institutions accountable for system results.

*Bringing the functions of Industry Training Organizations (ITOs) inside the ITA and establishing Sector Advisory Councils

These shifts will in turn ensure:

*There is accountability in the system for outcomes that are evidence-based and demand driven.

*A meaningful role for industry and employers, including labour.

*An increased the supply of skilled trades people, in the right place, at the right time.

To view the complete McDonald Report, please visit: http://www.jtst.gov.bc.ca/ITA_Review/docs/ITA_Review_Final_Report.pdf