Student loan maximums to double in B.C. starting this year, province says

Post-secondary students in British Columbia who require loans and other services while in school will soon have access to more support, according to the province. 

On Tuesday, the B.C. government announced that interest-free student loan maximums will double starting in August. Students without dependents will be eligible for up to $220 per week, while those who have dependents will qualify for up to $280 weekly. 

This is the first increase in loan maximums since 2006, the province says.

Meanwhile, loan repayment will be a little easier, too: graduates earning less than $40,000 a year won't have to make payments while looking for jobs in their fields. 

Additionally, for those who are making more than $40,000, payments will be cut in half, from 20 per cent to 10 per cent.  

The provincial government eliminated interest on B.C. student loans in 2017, which it estimates helped more than 200,000 people. 

The province says this latest move is part of the broader Future Ready Plan that aims to address the current labour shortage in B.C.

"In the past few years we have faced unprecedented challenges that have tested people and our economy like never before,"  Premier David Eby said. 

The government says the 2022 Labour Market Outlook suggests that over the next 10 years, one million job openings will come up, the majority of which will require post-secondary education or some sort of skills training. 

"Our economy is growing and innovating quickly," Eby said. "Work is transforming, and we have more job openings than skilled people."

He said more than one-third of jobs will require people to learn new skills to keep up with requirements.

The Future Ready Plan includes $480 million over three years to help people of all demographics get the skills needed to keep B.C.'s economy going. 

The province says it is investing in thousands more student housing units, and adding more seats to existing education programs. 

Core funding for Indigenous-mandated institutions, funding for Indigenous language literacy programs and teacher training are all part of the Future Ready Plan. The province says there is also money for a review of racism within the post-secondary system.

A new grant, called the Future Skills Grant, will be available for British Columbians in more than 400 courses at post-secondary institutions provincewide, and will provide up to $3,500 per student.

The Future Skills Grant will be available starting in September, and the province expects it will support about 8,500 students in the next three years.

The province also introduced "rapid response training" on Tuesday — short-term training that aims to respond to labour market changes quickly.

Eddy Gooch, a member of the Cowichan Tribes, said he'd had careers in the culinary industry and in construction but had really wanted to become a nurse.

Talking at the news conference, Gooch said he went back to school in his late 30s and realized his goal of becoming a nurse shortly after finishing a program at Vancouver Community College.

He said he hopes others will consider education and skills training for other career opportunities. 

"Education, school, comes at a cost," he said. "I hope funding opportunities like this, today, will encourage more people to check out the possibilities available."