People looking to excel in B.C.’s growing mass-timber sector can now access more knowledge and training opportunities at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT).

“Mass timber is a strong, clean building technology that is at the centre of our province’s future construction blueprint,” said Jagrup Brar, Minister of State for Trade, and chair of the Mass Timber Advisory Council. “Partnering with BCIT to increase our province’s catalogue of available skills training builds on the work we’ve done to create a world-class mass timber sector in B.C., and helps ensure our province has enough workers with the right skills to construct our climate-smart buildings of the future, and build more homes with mass timber.”

As part of the StrongerBC: Future Ready Action Plan, the Province is providing BCIT with $3.3 million to create a mass timber training hub, providing expanded opportunities for people to gain new skills in the sector. Two new mass timber courses are expected to be piloted in the fall to complement BCIT’s existing training. Once construction is complete on the new state-of-the-art Trades and Technology Complex for the Burnaby campus, all mass timber training courses will be housed there.

“For nearly 60 years, BCIT has been delivering flexible, relevant education that prepares learners to provide applied solutions to industry challenges,” said Jeff Zabudsky, president, BCIT. “Today’s funding announcement in support of mass timber training is a prime example of how BCIT, government and industry continue to collaborate to identify areas of need, and quickly build talent to support in-demand jobs across the province. Together, we are advancing the mass-timber sector to the benefit of students, employers, our economy and our climate future.”

Delivered through strategic partnerships with industry, BCIT will continue developing new programs combining online and community-based delivery models and in-person learning. The expanded mass timber training programs will increase accessibility for professionals to be job ready, fill the current knowledge gaps in the industry and combat the skilled worker challenge in the sector.

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