Minister of Jobs, Innovation and Economic Recovery Ravi Khalon says the province is working at helping businesses find staff within rural and remote communities.
He added that in 2021, there were 28,000 people moving to B.C from other provinces, which is the highest in 28 years.
According to Khalon, the province is transitioning into a period where there are more jobs than there are people.
During a press conference in Prince George today (Wednesday) Khalon identified three main areas the province is focusing on: child care, micro credentials and immigration.
“We know that child care has societal benefit and that has been talked about for a long time but now I think the public understands now more than ever economic benefit because we’ve seen more in particular women come back to the workforce as child care costs come down,” he said.
According to Khalon, employers are also looking for skilled trade workers which is why colleges across the North are providing micro credential courses.
He said employers are looking to hire people who have skilled training right away.
“We’re working with the business community, why don’t you take those people on as employees and we’ll create micro credentials so that they can get quick training opportunities, they can learn on the job, they can come back to school and get micro credentials,” Khalon said.
He added that the province is trying to be flexible within the education system to meet the needs with the private sector.