When Christy Clark took over as premier of British Columbia she promised a families-first agenda and one of the initiatives from that agenda has landed in the Sea to Sky Corridor.
Training Innovations, a career development company with offices in Squamish and Whistler, is going to open WorkBC Employment Services Centre in Whistler and Squamish on April 2.
"We are delighted to launch this new program, it is a great opportunity to provide a variety of services that meet the needs of individuals and employers in the community," said Tannis Goddard, President and Founder of Training Innovations, in a news release.
"Having delivered employment services in the Corridor since 2001, I am thrilled that Training Innovations will continue helping address the unique employment and labour market needs in Whistler."
According to the news release, the new WorkBC Employment Services Centres will make life easier for people looking for work by integrating all services through a single door. Training Innovations will be offering services and support to help the unemployed get back to work quickly.
The centres will support the government's Families First Commitment and B.C. Jobs Plan. The aim of the provincial government's plan is to strengthen the provincial economy through the creation and protection of jobs.
"All service providers will deliver the full suite of employment services to citizens and will determine the best way to meet the needs of specialized populations," said Stephanie Cadieux, the B.C. Minister of Social Development.
Training Innovations won the contract to operate the two centres through a competitive bid process. The company has more than 20 years experience designing and delivering community-based employment programs in B.C. through online and in-person service options.
Training Innovations is partnering with a number of organizations to deliver the services. The partner organizations include the Whistler Community Services Society, the Sea to Sky Community Services Society, the Community Futures Development Corporation of Howe Sound, the Howe Sound Women's Centre Society, the Squamish Nation, the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre, Lower Stl'atl'imx Tribal Council, the Ts'zil Learning Centre, Squamish Physio and Wellness Centre, the Immigrant Services Society of BC, Life Strategies Ltd., Open Door Group and Douglas College.
"In Whistler we will be operating out of our current location in Function Junction," said Tina Strehlke, the Communications Director with Training Innovations. "We will also provide regularly scheduled outreach services in the Village, in Pemberton and in Mount Currie. Locations and schedules are still being finalized but we plan to have a variety of in-person, telephone and online access points for Sea to Sky residents."
She added that in Squamish her company plans to open the new centre at the Training Innovations office on Second Avenue, but there's a possibility a new and separate location may be found at some point in the future for the Squamish centre.
