A wise teacher once told me any career can be fabulous if you like the work – and miserable if you don’t.

As students, your most important challenge is to get to know yourself so you can choose the post-secondary education that will lead to a rewarding and satisfying life. As Minister of Advanced Education, my challenge is to make sure you have access to that post-secondary education.

The B.C. government believes higher education should be available to every single student who wants it. That’s why we are adding 25,000 new seats to our post-secondary system by 2010, which means more spaces at every university, college, university college and institute in the province.

Part of the reason we’ve embarked on the largest post-secondary expansion in 40 years is we want every high school student who achieves a B or better to be able to go to university if that’s the path they’ve chosen. The good news is we’re already seeing progress in that direction, just one year into our six-year expansion.

It's working

Early this year, Simon Fraser University announced it is giving conditional acceptances to students with 80 per cent averages, and staff say applications are on the rise as a result.

The University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia Okanagan have invited students with 75 per cent averages to apply for entrance this September.

UBC Okanagan, in Kelowna, is one of the two new universities that we are creating ­­in our province this year, along with Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops. We are also working to establish British Columbia as the new global home for the World Trade University, a United Nations global partnership.

Meanwhile, we’re adding nearly 12,000 of our 25,000 new student spaces to our network of colleges, university colleges and institutes to make sure students can choose from a wide range of developmental, vocational, career technical, academic and applied degree programs closer to home.

We know that access to post-secondary education is affected most dramatically by the availability of student spaces. But cost is another factor, which includes the rising cost of living, as well as the cost of tuition.

Tuition increases limited

Our government removed a six-year tuition freeze to allow institutions to catch up with the rest of Canada. Now that they have caught up, we will be limiting any future increases to the rate of inflation, effective in September.

Because we do not want cost to be a barrier to students, British Columbia has a comprehensive, flexible student financial aid system – so that anyone can invest in their education if they choose. Over the next three years, we will be providing $450 million to students through that system, including loan reductions for students most in need, grants for students with disabilities, debt relief programs, and loan forgiveness programs.

Student aid will be further enhanced with an income exemption that will allow you to earn more than you could previously, without reducing your eligibility for student loans and grants. And we’re reducing the amount parents are expected to contribute before students become eligible for assistance.

In B.C., one out of every two students takes advantage of our student loan system to further their education. But there’s another path to obtaining post-secondary qualifications that allows you to earn while you learn – and that is to pursue a trade.

Earn while you learn

I know top students who have decided to become welders, or auto mechanics, or boilermakers, or chefs – because they loved working in those trades. Some go on to build their own businesses, small and large. And others may take advantage of our new, more flexible approach to industry training to build on their qualifications to obtain new ones and pursue other opportunities – management, for example.

There’s another option for those of you who must fit in your education around your day (or night) jobs, or family obligations, and that’s online learning. Just this week we launched the next phase of BCcampus, a collaborative system of online learning that will increase access for students everywhere in our province. You can log on at www.bccampus.ca to see what it’s all about.

Our government’s vision for post-secondary education is built around choice. We want students in B.C. to have the type of education they need to fulfill their dreams. That means a high-quality post-secondary system that is both strong and sustainable. We believe we are achieving that vision, and that you, our students, will reap the benefits.

Advanced Education Minister Ida Chong, right, unveils plans for a new library building at Langara College in Vancouver, with college president Linda Holmes. Funding for the library is part of the $800 million government is investing in post-secondary facilities over the next three years.

Parents and students have a new web-based tool that provides quick and easy access to information about the record number of educational choices available in B.C.’s public schools.

Nearly 5,000 specialty programs are offered at more than 1,650 public schools. As a result of B.C.’s Open Boundaries policy, students are able to take advantage of these choice programs at any public school in the province, providing there is space. To help you navigate the incredible variety of programs and locate the school of your choice, government has developed the School Choices Tool.

This user-friendly, interactive web tool will allow you to search all the choice programs in B.C. by school district, city or specialty to help you find exactly what you are looking for.

In addition to helping you locate your program of choice, the School Choices Tool also links directly to the school district website, school website and Foundation Skills Assessment results for the school.

You may also want to check out the School Profile Tool for even more information on the school of your choice such as satisfaction survey results or the school’s graduation rate.

Whether you want your child to study computers at Riverside secondary school in Coquitlam, play baseball or softball at Lambrick Park in Victoria or attend a traditional school in Oyama, the choice is yours.

To help you choose the right school for your child, see Choosing a School In British Columbia, a checklist for parents. Do you have ideas for more choice programs? For details, see Develop More Choices Within the K-12 Public Education System.

For more information on changes to B.C.’s education system, please visit the AchieveBC Website.

When Stephen Venn from Duncan achieved his goal of finding a full-time job, he didn’t expect his success to be celebrated across B.C., sealed with a handshake from Premier Gordon Campbell. That’s exactly what happened when Venn became JobWave’s 30,000th job placement success.

JobWave, one of the B.C. government’s job placement agencies, partners with the B.C. Chamber of Commerce to help income assistance clients find and keep good jobs. Its milestone celebration was held earlier this year in Victoria, and was broadcast through audio link to eight communities throughout B.C. The Premier personally congratulated Venn, JobWave and the B.C. Chamber on their success.

“In partnership with programs like JobWave, we have made exceptional progress in helping British Columbians access the independence and self-confidence that comes with employment,” said Campbell. “Our province has created jobs faster than any other province over the last three years, and with one million job openings forecast over the next decade, this is an incredible time for British Columbians to build a career and a future anywhere in B.C.”

Minister of Human Resources Susan Brice was on hand to applaud another successful client moving off the caseload and achieving independence.

“I’m so pleased to see people like Stephen achieving their goals and finding good jobs,” said Brice. “It’s really all about people building brighter futures for themselves and their families.”

JobWave began operations in 1995. Since 2001, government job placement agencies have placed more than 38,000 income assistance clients in jobs.

To continue building on the momentum of job success, the B.C. Chamber is launching a new Internet Job Store to provide opportunities for all British Columbians. The service is free for job seekers and employers.

“We have set a goal of being the first port of call for people looking for work throughout B.C.,” said John Winter, president and CEO of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce. “By partnering with local Chambers, the Job Store will allow us to provide primary human resources help for businesses and individuals looking to match skills with opportunities.”

Currently, the B.C. Chamber Job Store has more than 2,000 jobs posted on its website at www.bcchamberjobstore.org.

Social Work Week, March 21-27, recognized the immense value social workers contribute to the lives of countless families and individuals. In B.C., we acknowledge their efforts since 2001 to reduce the number of children in government care.

Research shows the best place for children to feel supported and cared for is living safely within their family – or, alternatively, with relatives or a person with significant ties to them.

In light of this, the province has given social workers new tools to help keep children with loved ones – including the creation of kith and kin agreements that allow children to stay with extended family. In the past two years, there have been 687 kith and kin agreements, helping to reduce the number of children in care by 15 per cent. In 2003 alone, 30 per cent fewer children were removed from their homes.

Social-work practitioners and others integral to the adoption process have also helped more children to join permanent, loving homes. The province has invested to increase the number of families approved to adopt, and established a $3-million trust fund to attract, assist and provide educational support to adoptive families. Efforts like these have more than doubled the number of children in care who are adopted, to 338 in 2003-04 from 163 in 2000-01.

With the aid of social workers, B.C. also provides the most comprehensive range of support services to foster parents in Canada, including training and after-hours telephone support by professional staff. Currently, there are about 3,500 foster families across the province. With 35 per cent of B.C. adoption placements involving children who are adopted by their foster caregivers, this is another area in which the efforts of caseworkers contribute to safe, loving and permanent homes for children.

To provide social workers with a clearer picture of early childhood development issues, the province has just announced a $73-million program to provide universal hearing, dental and vision screening for every child under age six. This will make is easier for social workers to assess clients’ health-care needs and connect families with the right services.