Way to go, B.C.  |  June 19, 2007  

The cover story in the upcoming July issue of Backbone is about Canada's competitiveness in relation to the rest of the world. Not to steal the issue's thunder, but our competitive numbers could be better and many people say a lack of tech investment is part of the problem.

So it's very good news that the B.C. government is tripling the size of the funding for its internship program to $10 million. The money is targeted specifically at boosting competitiveness.

“These new funds will allow MITACS (a national research network) to provide more than 650 internships over the next four years, more than tripling the size of the program,” said Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell in a press release. “The internship program will build the province's base of highly-skilled graduates while encouraging innovation and commercialization in B.C.'s knowledge-based economy. It is also leveraging another $5 million from industry partners for the program."

If we want Canada to be competitive on a world stage – and as globalization takes firmer hold and as wealth generation is increasingly tied to tech prowess, we do want that – then we need a workforce that is not only able to create innovation but also interested in doing so. When our best and brightest minds scan the career landscape, we need technology options to stand out from the landscape.

Internship programs are an excellent way to do that.

Peter Wolchak