A CHALLENGE TO GOVERNMENT: PROTECT THE PROVINCE’S EDUCATIONAL CORE
Opinion editorial presented by Jim Reed, is president of the BC Colleges and Institutes - an association of the eleven colleges in the province.
Selkirk College is one of 11 B.C. colleges which comprise the BC Colleges and Institutions Association. Photo by Keith Powell
It’s budget planning time for the provincial government whose next fiscal year begins April 1, 2009.
For most years planning the next budget has been relatively straightforward. But this year is different. Economic experts and pundits everywhere are forecasting an economic storm, one that will be a supreme challenge to our government. To their credit, the government is already rising to the immediate challenge of a significant drop in the forecast revenues for this fiscal year and the rippling effects of the economic downturn that are expected to continue beyond the next fiscal year.
Nevertheless, the inevitable consequence of reduced provincial revenues is cuts in government funding. In outlining steps the government is taking immediately, the language of Premier Campbell and his finance minister is hopeful. They have some rainy-day surplus that they intend to use, in their words, to protect the important programs, whether it’s health care, education, or the social service ministries.
Speaking for the province’s eleven community colleges, we find this encouraging because we know from experience that in tough economic times the unemployed want and expect a seat in the classrooms of the province. We also know from history that protecting, and even expanding higher education, is an effective policy lever for coping in times of recession.
We therefore call on the government to protect public post-secondary education in the province that ensures a skilled, job-ready workforce is available for the moment when the economy turns around, as it will. The important point here is that our province can't afford to be “late to market” with a workforce that is ready and able to perform in what will be, yet again, a new economy.
When the colleges speak of a job-ready workforce, we do so mindful of the fact that labour market experts estimate that 42% of recent skill shortages are in occupations that require graduates of a community college program. These are the college programs that graduate highly skilled trades people, the applied technologists and technicians for the resource based and environmental industries, the nurses and technical support for health professionals, computer and network operators for today's modern enterprises.
So we say to government, protect access to the province’s community colleges with funding that enables them to pay the bills. Because of their geographic locations, the colleges provide learning and skill training opportunities everywhere in this vast province.
A recent report by CCbenefits Inc shows that the colleges as a collective provide a 14% rate of return on the investment of public funds used to support the colleges. This ROI compares favourably with private sector rates of return on similar long-term investments. However, protection must encompass more than seat capacity in our institutions. The government must make it possible for the unemployed to make themselves job-ready by enabling them to attend college rather than chasing job opportunities where none exists. These are not easy challenges; they are, however, the challenges that must be met if the government is to ensure a vibrant economic future for the province. The colleges are up to the challenge.
