From first to worst

Campbell Liberals have managed to take BC residents participation in post secondary education from first to worst in Canada. In just four years the percentage of BC youth going onto post secondary education has fallen substantially. The Liberals talk a good game, yet BC continues its downward trend.

We need to make BC education more affordable and accessible. One of the advantages to business locating and investing in BC over the past ten years has been our skilled and educated workforce.

The Alma Mater Society (AMS) of the University of British Columbia recently passed a policy calling on the Campbell Government to extend the Provincial Loan Forgiveness Program to other undergraduate and graduate programs in the hope of addressing numerous structural human resource deficiencies that will materialize in the next several years.

"BC has the lowest levels of post-secondary participation in the country with only 13.5% of 18-21 year-olds enrolled in post-secondary, compared to a national average of 23.8%. This number is growing faster than anywhere else in the country, but the pipeline is still insufficient to meet provincial needs.

High tuition and limited financial assistance resources, particularly grant base resources, are a deterrent for many in pursuing and completing a post-secondary education." - Alma Mater Society (AMS) of the University of British Columbia, May 9, 2005

A combination of an aging workforce and a low post-secondary enrollment rate amongst high school graduates will exacerbate BC’s traditional dependence upon importing trained expertise, especially given the tendency of BC trained expertise to leave the province to work in other jurisdictions.

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