Fourteen more students will be able to enrol in the health-care assistant program at the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT) next September, after the post-secondary institute received a new grant from the provincial government.

The Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training provided NVIT with $146,000 to add seats to its health-care assistant program, with the goal of boosting the number of health-care assistants throughout the province. In total, the province has pledged nearly $1 million to create approximately 100 new training spaces across B.C.

“At NVIT, we are very persistent in our mission to improve the quality of life of Indigenous community members,” stated Dr. John Chenoweth, dean of NVIT community education, in a press release.

“Community-based delivery models are very successful with this program and the response from the health sector is tremendous. We aspire to continue to advocate and deliver on our mission,” he added.

The B.C. government expects there to be 2,360 health-care related job openings by 2027 in the Okanagan alone. The surge in openings is tied to the province’s aging population, the press release explained.

“We all want to make sure people are getting the quality care they need and deserve,” said Advanced Education Minister Melanie Mark.