School shop classes in Prince George are the first in the province to get new provincial investments in tools.
A ceremony at PGSS was held Thursday night hosted by the Construction Foundation of BC and the local construction association, where the cheques were presented to the school district from Project Shop Class.
"They went to all the school districts' high schools in the whole province basically asking for their wish list for tools," said Karin Fidler, executive assistant for the Prince George Construction Association. "We are the first to see the results of that survey. Kelly Road, PGSS and College Heights will get funding and a Dawson Creek school as well will receive their cheques in this first contribution from that program. It is about $50,000 total, shared between those four schools."
The foundation approached government, business and the public for contributions to fund the wish list. Almost $300,000 was collected.
The total wish list costs for rebuilding and refitting school shop classes added up to about $9 million. Originally, the foundation planned to pick some winning schools from among the 115 that participated, but in February it was announced by BC Construction Association president Manley McLachlan that all 115 would get at least some of the funding.
"In looking through the applications it became clear that every school was committed, had a true need, and deserved to receive support," said McLachlan. "And we certainly know the demand is there in the sector for more skilled tradespeople. The Project Shop Class website enables anyone in the province to support any school for any amount. We're thrilled to see industry step up in such a big way to get the campaign started."
The two largest private donations came from Enbridge's Northern Gateway project and Houle Electric, both with regional headquarters in Prince George.
