The Province of B.C. is investing $44,079 in a local partnership designed to develop skills and provide useful work experience for people in Cranbrook.
Money is being provided through the Partnerships and Innovation Fund to support Community and Employer Partnerships. These partnerships are a component of the Employment Program of British Columbia. Funding will target the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History (CBIRH) in Cranbrook.
"This partnership benefits our community in a variety of ways – not only does it provide valuable work experience for the participants involved, but it also makes regional history more accessible for everyone," said Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett during a check presentation Friday in front of CBIRH offices in Cranbrook.
The funding will serve to help hire four people for full-time positions for the duration of the 27-week project. In particular, the employees will be working on "A Legacy Of Learning," which is a CBIRH project in partnership with School District 5. The goal is to research and assemble a series of websites investigating the history of education in the East Kootenay. Derryll White, Executive Director of the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History, said the project is looking at all the communities included historically in School Districts 1 and 2, now merged as School District 5.
Watch these pages for an upcoming major feature on "A Legacy Of Learning." In the meantime, if you have any memorabilia on school days past, contact Derryl White at dwhite@basininstitute.org, or at 250-489-9150.
Eligible participants for the work experience will be referred by the local WorkBC Employment Services Centre.
Other partners on the project include HSBC, Golden & District Museum, Cranbrook Archives Museum and Landmarks Foundation, School District #5, Solar Etchings, and the Columbia Basin Institute.
The goal of Community Employer Partnerships is to increase employment opportunities for unemployed British Columbians through the use of agency and business partnerships, shared information and technology, and innovative processes and practices.
The Ministry of Social Development administers funding through the Partnership and Innovation Fund to support these partnerships.