PROJECT SHOP CLASS-KEEPING CANADA STRONG.

On Tuesday Aug 19th. Our featured presenter for the evening was Matthew M.Stevenson MED,IPTQ, AED,PID

He is a consultant working with the BC Construction Association  (BCCA) his position is to match Canadians with trade positions.
His mantra is Keep Canada Strong.

First step is to encourage students to look to the TRADES for their career. Opportunities abound and Canada is
 experiencing an increasing shortage of skilled trades workers. Hence the need to source workers from abroad for immediate needs.

Matthew stated that his emphasis is to Keep Canada Strong by firstly employing Canadians and promoting the 
training and hiring of Canadians. When that will not fill the void he goes outside Canada to match potential employees
 with Companies in Canada and starting the process of having these employees stay in Canada and make Canada their 
home thus helping to Keep Canada Strong.

BCCA is employer owned Association with over 2,300 employer owners. Many of these are small to medium size companies that 
form our countries economic engine. They have a need for skilled workers to compete for projects and to complete projects ensuring their growth and
 a strong local workforce to Keep Canada Strong

BCCA have several programs to assist both employers and prospective employees move forward.

STEP (Skilled Trade Employment Program) http://www.stepbc.ca

FSWBC(Foreign Skilled workers BC)            http://www.fswbc.com

A new program established in February 2014 is an initiative of the Construction Foundation of BC to rebuild and refit
shop Classes in BC Schools. One way to Keep Canada Strong is to get an early start on Trades training and creating
 an awareness in high School Students of their future in the Trades rather than the Academic environment.
Through this new initiative individuals are encouraged to donate to their local schools to upgrade their Shops pay for
 quality training. Also the Construction Foundation is working with its member companies to provide equipment and 
support so working together we can Keep Canada Strong

For more information here is their link.http://projectshopclass.com 

Once again we had a quality speaker and gained a lot of knowledge another ROTARY Benefit sharing our knowledge.

Our resident Commercial Electrician and Founding member Walt Johnson presents Matthew with a token of our appreciation for sharing his experience and knowledge