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Background The mission of the BC Construction Industry Skills Improvement Council, SkillPlan, is to develop strategies to improve the essential skills of people working in the unionized construction industry in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. SkillPlan is a joint labour and management initiative of the BC construction industry which was established as a not-for-profit society in March, 1991. The Council is the industry's response to the evolving workplace that requires greater reading, writing, math, problem solving and oral communication skills. SkillPlan's premise is that a solid foundation of these essential skills is the VelcroT to which all other skills stick. We recognize that these skills are part of an adult's life not only at work but in their unions and in the wider community. SkillPlan connects the context of construction with learning. Members are provided with upgrading opportunities to support their successes in apprenticeship and journeyperson training. Like so many industries, what was once adequate is no longer so. As a result of changing government policy, on-the-job requirements such as health and safety demand that workers obtain documentation, often by written examination. For an ageing workforce and workers for whom English is a second language, such requirements may be challenging. Workplace instructions and manuals have become more necessary and more difficult, reflecting the complexity of new machinery and processes. Lifelong learning for everyone is essential to the economic success of the organized sector. SkillPlan is an industry resource that builds on a tradition of excellence.
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