The Vancouver School Board, in partnership with Vancouver Community College (VCC), was recently awarded the Employer Partnership of the Year Award by the BC Career Development Association.
As the local and global economy tackles labour shortages, the partnership has benefited the District by enabling a sustainable pool of well trained and highly qualified candidates. In the last three years, more than 80 VCC students, who completed the VCC Building Service Workers training program, have found placements with VSB and successful employment for many students, now employees of the District.
Parm Malli, operations supervisor with the District knows well the value the partnership provides to the VCC students and the District.
"As a proud alumnus of the training program at VCC myself, I have a great understanding of the curriculum. VCC is surely one of our preferred choices for candidates as graduates have all the soft and technical skills we look for," he says.
Malli sees this partnership as a win-win. "The partnership has proven to be very beneficial for the District to identify talent, support inclusive hiring and nurture a new workforce."
Graduates have a lot of positive experiences to share as well. Recent graduate Concepcion Cera started working at District in early May 2022. As a new immigrant from the Philippines, she says, "This training has opened new doors for me. I can now support myself, my family and also people's safety in the community."
VCC believes the District is an attractive employer for job seekers, thanks to the inclusion and diversity policies which champion opportunities for immigrants and visible minorities.
Thanks to the partnership between the District and VCC, stable and rewarding careers are becoming the norm for VCC students of program. The District is a place where people can take pride in their work and contribute their skills and talents to serving the needs of students. In addition to being an inclusive workplace, the District also recently attained certification as a living wage employer, contributing to the local economy with stable and well-paying jobs in Vancouver.
