4.3 Education and Training Labour Market Information

The importance of education and training

Many of today's jobs require workers to have more education and training than ever before. To succeed in the workplace, you'll find that post-secondary education is usually essential. And lifelong learning isn't just a buzzword. Workers are expected to continuously upgrade their skills throughout their careers.

Make a point of getting to know the kinds of courses and programs offered by post-secondary institutions in your community. This information is invaluable for making plans to upgrade your knowledge and skills.

Use the Net for your research

You can easily research programs offered by post-secondary institutions on the Internet. All colleges and universities post their programs on their websites. The BC government has created several excellent resources to help you find the program you need.

Check out these websites:

The Education Planner is a comprehensive resource with information about 1,380 undergraduate programs at the 28 public post-secondary institutions in BC. You can search the data base for programs in four ways: by field of study, subject, institution or length of program.

The Ministry of Advanced Education's Industry Training website provides general apprenticeship training information. There are also details on each designated trade and occupation, including length of program and the number of workplace and in-school hours required.

The BC Distributed Learning Course Directory provides information on BC post-secondary credit courses offered by distance. Use this directory for information about courses you can take if your schedule doesn't allow you to attend a classroom setting or if the course is not available in your community.

The Private Career Training Institutions Agency of BC offers information about private trade schools in the province. Search for programs by type or geographical area. You can also generate a list of accredited private trade schools in the province.