Cws EDITOR RYAN BANAGAN THE VOICE, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013 2 Keep the golf course: public ‘This place 1s like home to me so when I hear they’re consider- ing changing it, it makes me angry’ — William Burke By JESSE ADAMSON outh Vancouver residents are fighting a proposal that would shrink the 18-hole Langara golf course into nine holes in order to create green space for parks. Despite protests from over 60 se- niors, the Vancouver park board voted in July to review the operations of its three public golf courses. The board voted in favour of the review with the stipulation that the review may not suggest any commercial or residential development on the land. People who use the course say that out of the three full-length courses owned by the city, the Langara course is most affordable and convenient. Some have frequented the Langara links for so long that they have a sense of ownership over the course. “Tt’s ridiculous,” said avid golfer Wil- liam Burke, 66. “lve been coming here since my wife and I moved out here over 15 years ago. This place is like home to me so when I hear they are considering changing it, it makes me angry.” If the review concludes that it is in the city’s interest to cut the golf course in half, then it will be used for green space, sports fields or outdoor events, such as concerts. “T think the area would get a lot loud- er and I don’t know if that’s a good thing,” said Mary Tsang, who lives two blocks away from the golf course. “Sports fields and outdoor concerts are fun for the kids, but it isn’t ideal for the people living in this area. My kids are older and don’t live here. We have no use for this.” The Langara golf course was built in 1926 by the Canadian Pacific Railway and later redesigned by Canadian ar- chitect Thomas McBroom. “Tt would be sad if they decided to go ahead with this,” said Brandon Walter, a golfer and an employee of the course. “Tt’s been around for so long, some of the people have been coming here for so long. I don’t think they want to see it change.” When asked to comment on the sta- tus of the proposal the Vancouver park board said that there is nothing new to report and that the study is ongoing. Courtesy of Google Images Golfers enjoy a sunny day at LGC DESIGN FORMATION STUDENTS SHOW OFF CREATIVITY HAILEY McDONALD photo First-year design formation students spent two weeks constructing dresses made of brown pa- per, push pins, wire, masking tape, packing tape, coffee filters and other household items. The 32 dresses were modeled after real-life couture pieces as part of the students’ retail design course. Instructor Kevin Smith said the objective of the project is to prepare the students for prop making and sculpture building. Program a Green boost for new immigrant workers MOSAIC Environmental Immigrant Bridging Program part of Van’s goal to become the ‘world’s greenest city’ by 2020 By ANGELA HOLUBOWICH a new immigrant in the Canadian employment market. Besides learning a new language, immigrants have to battle for potential positions with locally qualified coun- terparts. MOSAIC Environmental Immigrant Bridging Program is an intensive 16 week program combining classroom time with work experience for profes- sionally trained immigrants looking for work in B.C.’s environmental sector. The program is offered free of charge to immigrants who have been in Cana- da less than 5 years and hold a degree or diploma in an environmentally-re- lated field. MOSAIC is “a multilingual non-prof- it organization dedicated to addressing issues that affect immigrants and refu- gees in the course of their settlement and integration into Canadian society,” according to their website. By encouraging the employment of immigrants within the environmental field, the program is part of Vancou- Te are added difficulties of being ver’s plan to become the “world’s greenest city,” by 2020. “The biggest challenges immigrants face in the Canadian workplace are lan- guage barriers and workplace culture,” said Linda Ragoonanan, a program fa- cilitator with MOSAIC. MOSAIC offers workshops in re- sume and interview skills as well as a variety of usable workplace training. The programs are offered free of charge for those who are not eligible for Employment Insurance and those who are underemployed or unem- ployed. Although the application deadline for the class beginning in April has lapsed, those interested can get more information and apply for the program by email at environment@mosaicbe. com or by calling 604.254.0244. The next intake date for the program has not been set at this time. Judging on the level of interest shown for programs of this type, it is likely to be sooner rather than later. “These programs are huge,” said Ra- goonanan. “They make a real differ- ence in the lives of these people.” benenis Offered free of charge to im- migrants who have been in Canada less than 5 years and hold a degree or diploma in environmentally- related field Offers workshop for resume and interview skills Also offered free of charge for those who are not eligible for Employment Insurance and those who are underemplooyed or unemployed Nearly 16,000 Jobs lost in January Stats Canada report sends warning to students look- ing to enter work force By BRIAN HORSTEAD ecording to Statistics Canada, Ae: lost nearly 16,000 jobs in Jan- ary, making it more important than ever for college students to plan their degrees in advance. College students need to be forward- thinking, retired career counsellor Maggie Martin said. “Do the behind the scene work and go ok, these are the things that are cru- cial to me getting an entry level job in an industry, then match that job de- scription to what you’re studying,” Martin said. Martin has over 15 years of experi- ence working as a career counselor for the B.C. Career Management Associa- tion, before it became the B.C. Career Development Association in 2009. The Essential Skills Research Proj- ect was a national research study, launched by the Canadian government in 1994, to examine how essential skills were used in various jobs. “The essential skills project in itself is a good way for students to check out whether they have the skills neces- sary,” Martin said. “You don’t want someone to spend 2-4 years in a training program and come out the other side not having the skillset.” Not every graduate will have a hard time finding work in their field howev- er, since employment in health care and the trades is in high demand. There are over 150 registered trades in B.C., including everything from plumbing to graphic design. “Outside the trades, there is a glut of employment opportunity in health care,” Martin said. Spencer Powell has a bachelor’s de- gree in cognitive science from SFU but works as an administrator for the Wa- terfront Employers of B.C. Powell has used a number of online sources, including the career services of SFU, but has not found them very useful. “People are interested in hiring from a pool of students that they already know... they’re gonna work with a stu- dent they’ve worked with directly in their field,” Powell said. “They aren’t going to look for some- one with a multiple discipline degree like I have. They are going to look for master’s students that they have known for years,” Powell added. Kara Nolte, a Vancouver dance in- structor, has had good experiences working with the employment counsel- ors of the Gordon House Youth Search, who helped her have a career that ac- cords with her passions. BRIAN HORSTEAD photo SFU graduate Spencer Powell