British Columbia has a rich and diverse economy with a great many career opportunities. For many British Columbians, the sheer number of possible career paths and study options can be overwhelming. Others are simply not aware of how many opportunities exist in this province.
Careerbuild is a new online tool that allows people to learn about all the various occupations in BC. Supplying key data such as wages, job openings and sector growth, Careerbuild was developed by the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Dr. Kevin Wainwright, Director, Projects and Strategic Initiatives, School of Business and BCIT SITE Centre.
“We want to see young people choose the career path that is best for them,” says Dr. Wainwright.
Careerbuild links occupations with corresponding BCIT programs; users can quickly find the right program to prepare them for the occupation they choose. The site is meant to benefit prospective students, faculty and program heads, industry, and anyone interested in learning more about opportunities in BC and the benefits of a BCIT program.
“Careerbuild users can research an occupation and then be directed to BCIT programs that would best prepare them for success in their chosen field,” says Dr. Wainwright. “Alternatively, they can begin by researching BCIT programs and then the variety of career paths that can result from each program.”
In addition to labour market data, Careerbuild contains program-related information such as job-to-grad ratios, employment rates of BCIT graduates from each program, and size of pool of graduates in each area from across the province. Careerbuild draws on large amounts of current, regularly updated data from a variety of sources (including Stats Can, BCStats, Conference Board of Canada, and Ministry of Advanced Education) filtered to focus on industries and sectors within British Columbia. Careerbuild contains features that allows BCIT program areas to add updates and new information, a critical feature in an ever changing environment.
With programs developed to meet the evolving and growing needs of our province, the British Columbia Institute of Technology has, for over 50 years, successfully prepared students to excel in the majority of the careers found in BC. To learn more about BCIT and Careerbuild, please visit the Careerbuild website.