Photo: Contributed

The Okanagan College Oliver campus has received funding from the province for 12 new seats in its health-care assistant program.

"Education is the key to unlocking good-paying jobs for people," said Melanie Mark, Minister of Advanced Education.

"By expanding the number of health-care assistant training seats in Oliver, we are helping students get the skills they need to create their future, and ensuring members of the community get the high-quality care they deserve."

The $89,000 one-time grant will add the seats starting February 2019. The funding is a part of $1M spread around B.C. to encourage training in the health-care field.

"We are grateful to the Province for this opportunity to move forward on our continuing goal of expanding access to post-secondary education throughout our region," said Jim Hamilton, president, Okanagan College.

"It is a great opportunity for students in the South Okanagan to accelerate their career development in a very important health-care field."