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Province partners to provide work experience
The Province of B.C. is investing $44,079 in a local partnership designed to develop skills and provide useful work experience for people in Cranbrook.
Money is being provided through the Partnerships and Innovation Fund to support Community and Employer Partnerships. These partnerships are a component of the Employment Program of British Columbia. Funding will target the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History (CBIRH) in Cranbrook.
“This partnership benefits our community in a variety of ways – not only does it provide valuable work experience for the participants involved, but it also makes regional history more accessible for everyone,” stated Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett during a brief ceremony in front of the CBIRH headquarters in downtown Cranbrook Nov. 16.
Ann Jensen of Employment and Labour Market Services, who made the trip in from Nelson for the ceremony, said the CBIRH funding is an example of job creation, with two people already hired and another two still to be hired – with each receiving 35 hours of work a week. The funding will cover 27 weeks.
“It gives them the experience they need to find (permanent) employment,” she said.
CBIRH manager Derryll White explained the project will provide work experience in a variety of areas, including design layout, computer operations, photography image editing, and research.
“The idea is to employ people,” he said.
The project will make museums’ historical collections more publicly accessible, benefitting the residents of Cranbrook, he outlined.
They will make these collections more accessible through a written newsletter and a virtual website where historical documents and photographs are scanned.
Eligible participants will be referred by the local WorkBC Employment Services Centre.
Other partners on the project include HSBC, Golden & District Museum, Cranbrook Archives Museum and Landmarks Foundation, School District #5, Solar Etchings, and the Columbia Basin Institute.
The Employment Program of B.C. launched in April 2012 and includes a Community and Employer Partnerships component.
Community and Employer Partnerships will help foster collaborative, coordinated networks of community organizations and employers across the province.
The goal of Community Employer Partnerships is to increase employment opportunities for unemployed British Columbians through the use of agency and business partnerships, shared information and technology, and innovative processes and practices.
The Ministry of Social Development administers funding through the Partnership and Innovation Fund to support these partnerships.
For more information on the Partnership and Innovation Fund, including eligibility criteria and how to apply: www.workbc.ca/Workplace-Resources/Community-Employer-Partnerships/Pages/Community-Employer-Partnerships.aspx
For more information and supports for job seekers, visit www.WorkBC.ca
To find local WorkBC Employment Services Centres, visit www.WorkBCCentres.ca
Pictured, from left: City of Cranbrook Coun. Angus Davis, CBIRH manager Derryll White, Gerald Hudson, Anne Edwards, Rob Norum (SD5 secretary treasurer), Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett, Ann Jensen of Employment and Labour Market Services and SD5 chair Chris Johns.
Ian Cobb/e-KNOW
