Trail’s Skills Centre continues to look for money and ideas to preserve the organization and the employment programs it offers.
The centre has been in a financial bind for the last few months due to the loss of provincial and federal government funding. It has laid off 10 of its 14 staff, including its longtime executive director.
Chair Rhys Andrews said in an interview that the board and remaining staff are “working on every side of the issue” to secure additional program and operating funding.
In a split vote, Trail city council recently turned down a request for $30,000, while the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary has yet to make a final decision on a similar request.
Andrews said they may go back to the city once they’re able to provide better answers to some of council’s questions.
He said the Skills Centre is currently running two small programs, which is positive, but it’s not enough to close the gap in their financial situation.
The organization recently signed a contract to do a financial analysis and feasibility study, looking at a range of options for the Skills Centre’s future.
Andrews previously told city council that while the Columbia Basin Trust can’t provide the Skills Centre with operating funds, they agreed to pay for the study, to be carried out by the firm of Grant Thornton.
“That feels good that we’ve got some consulting expertise supporting us with that kind of work,” Andrews said.
“We certainly are receiving positive feedback from some of our partners, in terms of awareness of our situation and some financial support. But we still have a gap and more work to do.”
The results of the study will let the Skills Centre create a clear action plan, Andrews said. In the meantime, the organization has a number of grant applications outstanding.
The Skills Centre is also seeking ideas from the community about how to use the three-storey warehouse that is part of the downtown building it bought in 2022. The space was previously by turns a dance studio, gym, bingo hall, and armoury.
Andrews said the mortgage on the building has added to the organization’s financial struggles, but it remains a “tremendous community asset.” The federal government provided $2.3 million to pay for renovations.
“Our goal is to turn the organization around and everyone is head down trying to do their best in that regard,” Andrews said. “It’s a difficult situation that we find ourselves in and we’re just trying to stay positive and be creative.”
Kootenay-Monashee MLA Steve Morissette said he’s well aware of the Skills Centre’s plight and has been talking to them since November.
“My office and I have been trying to work with them to find other avenues to support them,” he said.
“They rely on a number of different funding streams, and when a couple of them dry up, it’s important to find more. So we’re working to try and make them sustainable in the long term.”
Morissette called the Skills Centre a “great community organization” that he wants to see succeed.
In a prepared statement, the Ministry of Social Development said a reduced federal labour market transfer agreement funding has created pressures across the province.
The ministry said to avoid service gaps, programs are not being extended only in areas where alternatives exist. People in Greater Trail continue to have access to WorkBC employment services.
The ministry said its community and employer partnership programs continue to offer adult and youth training in communities across the Kootenays.
“While individual organizations may be experiencing financial challenges, the priority is ensuring that services for people continue, even if the providers delivering them change,” the statement said.
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