Project will allow more Northerners to train as community support workers

PRINCE GEORGE — More people in Northern B.C. will now be able to train for jobs as certified community support workers and community mental health workers, through a Community and Employer Partnerships (CEP) project funded by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction.

Sheila Malcolmson, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction said that “we all want young people to have both meaningful work and more services, to build better lives.”

The Province is providing funding to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) to deliver together with its partners, the community support worker diploma training project with its primary focus on training youth in Northern B.C. The province has invested $300,000 in this project.

Up to 12 participants will receive 27 weeks of essential, employability and occupational skills training, six weeks of on-the-job experience with community-support employers, and one week of follow-up support to prepare participants for work as certified community support workers and community mental health workers.