VICTORIA – Premier Christy Clark today accepted all recommendations in ‘The Premier’s Liquefied Natural Gas Working Group: Final Report’ as a road map to making sure British Columbia has the skilled labour force it needs to seize the opportunity of liquefied natural gas.

The report, produced by representatives of government, LNG proponents, organized labour, and the Haisla Nation, maps out 15 recommendations on planning, skills training, marketing and developing best practices within the LNG sector to attract a mobile workforce.

“To bring home the opportunity presented by LNG, we have to work together — government, industry, First Nations and labour,” said Premier Clark. “Everyone here today is working toward the same goal - making sure British Columbians benefit from this generational opportunity.”

Premier Clark called together the working group after her first meeting with representatives of organized labour in September 2013. At that historic meeting it was agreed that all parties would to work together to map out how they could work together to solve some of the complex challenges associated with the LNG opportunity.

“I want to thank the Premier for setting up the working group. I also want to thank the representatives of the Haisla Nation, industry, labour and government as it has been quite a process to come to agreement on the recommendations,” said Jim Sinclair, president of the BC Federation of Labour. “We were able to get beyond our differences by keeping our focus on what B.C. workers need to take advantage of the potential that lies in LNG. Now we have to ensure that the 15 recommendations are implemented.  This investment in the workers of British Columbia will lead to good jobs.  As we know, good jobs build a better B.C.”

The report includes one recommendation on developing a working group moving forward, four recommendations on skills training planning and implementation, two recommendations on marketing and promotions, three recommendations on apprenticeship trades and mentoring, two recommendations on a mobile workforce, one recommendation on timelines and two recommendations on the use of workers from other jurisdictions. The recommendations will be reflected in the 10-year skills training plan that will be released soon.

“Premier Clark recognized early the need for LNG workforce development in collaboration with industry, labour, and government,” said David Keane, vice president, policy and corporate affairs for BG Canada’s Prince Rupert LNG project. “Skills training is critical to ensure citizens of the province might realize the full economic benefits of LNG.”

Quick Facts:

• In September 2013, the Premier convened a meeting between government and leaders of organized labour with an objective to outline the Province’s vision for the LNG industry and engage labour in a discussion about their role in making the opportunity achievable.
• The result was the development of terms of reference and the establishment of the Premier’s LNG Working Group with representatives from organized labour, industry, First Nations and the Province.
• From November 2013 to March 2014, the Working Group’s 18 representatives met nine times and the final report just presented to the Premier which contains 15 non-binding recommendations.

Learn More:

The Premier’s Liquefied Natural Gas Working Group: Final Report: http://www.labour.gov.bc.ca/pubs/pdf/lng_final_report.pdf

BC Jobs Plan: http://www.bcjobsplan.ca/

Below are the 15 recommendations developed by the Working Group:

1. Develop a structure with equal representation from industry (including contractor associations), organized labour, First Nations, and governments to participate and enable the skills training and workforce planning issues leading to employment in the LNG opportunity on an ongoing basis after March 31, 2014. The structure, membership, and Terms of Reference should be established no later than July 1, 2014, in consultation with the members of the Premier’s LNG Working Group. In addition, the structure should be established in co-ordination with other LNG workforce activities already underway.
2. Begin planning and training British Columbians immediately for the LNG opportunity.
3. Training should be co-ordinated throughout B.C. and Canada to maximize the effectiveness of the existing labour pool and lead to employment.
4. Identify and remove barriers to entry into training while supporting literacy and essential skills development to support local and B.C. work-based training and employment.
5. Increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the investment in training by leveraging successful government, union, and private training programs.
6. In conjunction with recommendation #7, industry, governments, organized labour, and First Nations should partner to conduct campaigns and career fairs in high schools, colleges and cultural centres on the LNG opportunity.
7. Promote awareness of job opportunities in B.C., including work-based training with a focus in rural, northern, and First Nations communities.
8. Establish an inventory of individuals currently in apprenticeship programs and other non-apprenticeship skilled workers seeking employment. Include in the inventory journeypersons who are available to provide mentoring and on-the-job training to apprentices.
9. Aspire to a goal of having 25% overall of the apprenticeable trades workforce on LNG-related construction projects and whether funding for apprentices can come from industry and/or government. In addition, government should consider having a minimum number of apprentices on public infrastructure projects.
10. Review the approach used by private-sector unions with respect to apprentices and by First Nations with respect to training to determine if their approach can be improved or applied more broadly.
11. Explore and analyze projects that have used a mobile workforce. In addition, it is important to identify and resolve the barriers to worker mobility in relation to trades qualification and certification.
12. Target areas of opportunity by focusing on workers finishing construction or other projects in all areas of the province.
13. Explore best practices within the LNG sector and other competing industries with respect to the conditions necessary to attract a mobile workforce.
14. Develop a plan to support workers from other jurisdictions to stay in B.C.
15. Further refine and develop a process for the use of Temporary Foreign Workers in the context of an overall strategy that identifies the workforce needs of the LNG opportunity and immediately begins a skills training plan to develop as many British Columbian and Canadian workers as possible to meet those needs. The structure contemplated in Recommendation #1 will be seized with the responsibility to refine and develop a process for the use of Temporary Foreign Workers.

The Working Group met in person nine times between November 2013 and March 2014. The participants included:

Government

Trevor Hughes (chair)             Assistant Deputy Minister, Labour Division, Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Responsible for Labour

Rob Mingay                             Assistant Deputy Minister, Labour Relations, Public Sector Employers’ Council Secretariat, Ministry of Finance

Scott MacDonald                    Assistant Deputy Minister, Labour Market and Immigration Division, Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and responsible for Labour

Susan Brown                           Executive Director, Strategic Policy and Planning, Ministry of Advanced Education

Kursti Calder                           Director, Labour and Economic Planning, Ministry of Natural Gas Development

Industry

David Keane                            Vice President, Policy and Corporate Affairs, BG Canada

Bruce Wells                             Director of Project Planning and Execution, Trans Canada

Sarah McCullough                  Director, External Affairs and Communications, Spectra Energy

Rod Maier                               Manager, External Relations and Communications, Kitimat LNG, Chevron

Susanne Kajner                       Director, HR and Corporate Services, Progress Energy Canada Ltd.

Marc Maeseele                      LNG Plant Project Manager, Shell

Labour

Jim Sinclair                              President, B.C. Federation of Labour

Tom Sigurdson                        Executive Director, B.C. and Yukon Territory Building and Construction Trades Council

Joe Shayler                              Business Manager and Financial Secretary, United Association of Journeymen & Apprentices of the Plumbing & Pipefitting Industry of U.S. and Canada, Local 170

Mark Olsen                             Business Manager and Secretary-Treasurer, Construction & Specialized Workers’ Union, Local 1611 (Labourers)

Jud Martell                              Training Co-ordinator, Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association, Local 280

Dan Bradford                          Past Vice President, B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union

First Nations

Taylor Cross                            Deputy Chief Counsellor, Haisla Nation