Hundreds thrown out of N.L. training programs
The end of a federal program means their funding is gone
CBC News
Posted: Sep 2, 2011 10:23 PM NT
Last Updated: Sep 2, 2011 10:12 PM NT
Brian Carey, of Holyrood, is one of the more than 340 people who were told money for their training is gone. (CBC)
More than 300 skilled-trade students have been pulled out of classrooms across the province because the government program paying their way has dried up.
Brian Carey is one of them. He was supposed to be in school training for a new career.
Instead, he's at home watching his three boys and pondering his future.
“I was already in class for three days and we went through the course and I was enjoying the course and then got a phone call and I was told there wasn't enough funding, there were too many applicants and I couldn't go back to class,” he said.
Carey lost his job last year when the School for the Deaf in St. John's closed.
He was accepted into a heavy equipment operator program. It was a fresh start for him and his family but now they're in limbo.
Twenty of the 30 students in Carey's class also lost their funding.
The provincial government said that since a two-year federal program ended 340 students have been frozen out.
“We enjoyed two years of having a lot more money than we have today," provincial Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment Darin King said Friday.
“That was about $14.6 million. So we've basically had lots of applications and we've made an assessment based on the outlook of the province, where the labour demands are going to be.”
Government under fire
The NDP is criticizing the province’s handling of the issue.
Leader Lorraine Michael accuses the provincial government of bungling the program and mistreating would-be students.
“People should not have been told they could be in courses if they knew there wasn't enough money,” said Michael.
“So the government has to be held to task for not administering this with competence. People shouldn't have to suffer due to government's incompetence,” she said.
Michael wants the province to find the money to fund the training but King is accusing her of sending mixed messages.
“Two weeks ago Minster Tom Marshall announced a $600 million surplus. The message from the NDP: don't spend any more money. Put it in the bank and save it,” said King.
Back at his home in Holyrood, Carey feels he's been treated unfairly.
He believes the government strung him along while the province knew the money was running out.
He'd like an apology.
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