Community Futures Peace Liard Looking for Funding for Paramedic Training Program

FORT NELSON, B.C. – Community Futures Peace Liard penned a letter to Dawson Creek council, asking for a letter of support for a new paramedic training program.

The organization is applying for a grant from the Province of British Columbia Community workforce Response Grant program.

Community Futures Peace Liard will be administering the Northeast Primary Care Paramedic Training program, while Columbia Paramedic Academy will train students. The funding will go towards reimbursing 16 local students to get their license as Primary Care Paramedics.

“This opportunity will provide 16 people in the north the ability to access full employment in the ambulance service anywhere in British Columbia,” reads the letter from Sue Kenny, General Manager, Community Futures Peace Liard.

Kenny says there is incredible demand for trained paramedics in this province, and the fact is, there are only three training agencies in the entire province to fill the vacancies.

“One is a public post-secondary with a fixed number of seats, another is a smaller private training agency located on the north shore that has not undertaken any significant growth in the last several years, and we are the third.”

According to Kenny, there are 14 confirmed students from the Dawson Creek and Northeast surrounding areas. Two more are in the middle of the application process, and four more are on the waitlist.

Council moved in favour of providing the letter of support for the funding application at the meeting on Monday.

‍