FRANCAIS

April 20, 2004

Students in high schools and colleges across Manitoba will benefit from improved technical-vocational education programming, supported by almost $4.5 million over three years, Advanced Education and Training Minister Diane McGifford and Education, Citizenship and Youth Minister Peter Bjornson announced today.

Increased funding through the new initiative will strengthen existing programs, facilitate development of new programs and upgrade technical-vocational equipment in Manitoba high schools. There will also be support for the development of more innovative approaches to promote and deliver technical-vocational programming. These new approaches will be funded through grants for demonstration projects.

“This initiative will provide students with improved technical-vocational programming that will lead to rewarding careers and increased opportunities for future post-secondary education,” McGifford said. “To improve our economic growth and competitiveness over the long-term, Manitoba must make technical-vocational education more effective and responsive to labour market needs.”

The initiative will improve high school technical-vocational programming through the development of new standards that meet industry benchmarks. Additionally, strategies and procedures will be developed to clearly link high school and college programming, making it easier for students to proceed into post-secondary studies.

“It is important that we strengthen links between the high school, apprenticeship and post-secondary education systems,” said Bjornson. “Students need a greater number and variety of program choices and career pathways with an increased focus on technical-vocational skills.”

In addition to helping increase student awareness of career options and educational choices, the initiative will encourage new teachers to enter the technical-vocational field and will help existing teachers to enhance their skills.

“We held discussions with school division and college technical-vocational education representatives to determine how we could make further improvements,” McGifford said. “We know Manitoba’s education system has excellent potential to expand and improve the delivery of programs to educate youth and adults for the highly skilled occupations that are important to our economy.”

Educators and representatives from business, industry and labour will advise a new, three-person unit on implementation of the new initiative. A website and other materials will be developed to improve information sharing with the public.

“The demand for highly skilled occupations is growing world wide and we must better prepare our students for technical-vocational career opportunities,” Bjornson said. “With this new initiative, we are ensuring our students have a competitive advantage in tomorrow’s global marketplace.”

Programming areas within this initiative include building construction, aerospace, manufacturing, automotive technology, health and child care.

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