WorkBC: Assisting British
Columbians to be First in
Line for Jobs
Presented by:
Sergei Bouslov, Executive Director
August 1, 2014
Overview
 Performance highlights
 Building on lessons
learned
 Areas of focus
 Opportunities and
future direction
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Employment Program of BC
 Launched April 2, 2012 after over
2 years of consultations
 85 WorkBC Employment Services
Centres (ESCs) throughout BC
 100+ satellite offices with
outreach and itinerant services
 ESCs provide a range of services to
any unemployed British
Columbian
 Assist clients to become
employment ready and find &
sustain a job
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EPBC Services and Supports
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Resume preparation
Assistance with job searches
Employment counselling and support
Interview preparation
Employment related workshops
Employment needs assessments
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Financial needs assessments
Short-term certification
Assistive technology & devices
Skills training (funding for tuition and
living supports)
Living supports during apprentice training
Preparation for self-employment
Customized employment
Wage subsidy
Job development
Job coaching
Follow-up support for job maintenance &
retention
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Program Figures
Since April 2, 2012:
 Served 160,449 people, with over 80 percent receiving
case management
 38,776 employment outcomes achieved
 We achieve an overall employment rate of about 42%
 Employment outcome rate is nearly 80% for clients who have
completed case management
 EI clients account for 36% and BCEA clients account for
nearly a third of all clients
 91,076 self identified as being from one or more
specialized populations
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Specialized Populations
20,000
18,000
31%
27%
16,000
14,000
22%
12,000
10,000
13%
8,000
11%
6,000
8%
4,000
2,000
6%
1%
0
Persons with a
disability
Youth
Multi-barriered
Rural and
remote
populations
Aboriginal
people
Immigrants
Survivors of Francophone
violence and/or
abuse
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Key Lessons Learned
 Program Design:
 A single program replacing ten legacy programs
 Complex contracts to support program
 Simultaneously designing program and system
 Implementation :
 Community level & internal organization changes
needed to support program
 Adjusting program model to realities of system
 Ensuring financial viability for contractors
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Collaborative Problem Solving
 Collaboration and collective problem solving:
o Ministry-contractor co-led working groups
o Solutions have been jointly recommended and
implemented on an ongoing basis
o Continued focus on capacity building and service
consistency
 Flexible and adaptable program design
 Fair and sustainable payment model
 Collective effort to support program stabilization
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Moving Forward – Key Priorities
 Mobility of clients to satisfy labour demand
 Greater focus on skills development training
 Expanding networks with employers
 Continued development of strategies to support
specialized populations, including
 Aboriginals
 Youth
 Immigrants
 Persons with disabilities and multi-barriered
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Moving Forward (continued)
 Program initiatives to support all clients:
o Accessibility 2024 for Assistive Technology
o Customized Employment
o Persons with Disabilities Employment “ Culture
Shift”
o White Paper Consultation President’s Group
 Technology to support WorkBC:
o Client Portal
o BI Portal, common data sharing & analysis
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BC’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint
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Supporting the Blueprint
 Continue flexible and adaptable program
delivery
o Identifying new and addressing existing gaps
 Collaboration to improve outcomes
o Contractors & career practitioners role
o Utilizing Community Employer Partnerships initiative
 Informed decisions (EPBC Program Evaluation)
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