The University of Northern British Columbia is partnering with the BC Oil and Gas Commission to provide 30 Indigenous students with natural resource skills training.
Students will have access to training in either land reclamation or environmental monitoring programs offered via the UNBC Continuing Studies department. These courses provide students with practical job skills for work in their communities and in natural resource management as a whole. Funding will cover tuition, accommodation and food costs during the program. Students will begin training as early as May.
The commission has provided $125,000 in funding to the program and the BC Oil and Gas Research and Innovation Society has provided $25,000. These funds come from the commission’s Indigenous Education Program, a pilot project launched in January. The purpose of the program is to provide training that can benefit both Indigenous students and their communities, and advance Indigenous inclusion in how resource projects are regulated and monitored.
Additionally, the commission is also supporting Indigenous students of UNBC’s Northern Transition Program (NTP) through the development of new bursaries. The program is a holistic and supportive program that helps students from rural and Indigenous communities prepare for, and successfully navigate, their transition to a university program. The Commission’s NTP Bursary will financially support students in their first year in the program and their following year of studies at UNBC.
These programs all contribute to UNBC’s Northern Leadership Campaign, which has a target of raising $15 million for university-wide initiatives that strengthen research and teaching excellence, inspire next-generation leaders, and develop local solutions that have a global impact.