The employment-services sector now has access to leading-edge employment information, innovation and best practices through the BC Centre for Employment Excellence. This interactive online resource, bursting with information and ideas to help improve employment outcomes for job seekers in the province, is part of the Employment Program of B.C. (EPBC).

The BC Centre for Employment Excellence will act as a single co-ordination point for updated information about employment and training programs, best practices and resources. The site will ensure that the two EPBC external advisory panels have access to best practices, industry trends and other information critical to their role as EPBC overseers.

Resources available on the site include a knowledge clearinghouse with links to the best available resources, a system to share best practices in the employment industry, and links to relevant events and conferences. In coming months, results of research projects commissioned through the centre will be added, including results of a study to produce a skills profile of B.C. employment and career-development practitioners.

In its first three years of operation, the BC Centre for Employment Excellence will receive $2 million in funding through the Canada-B.C. Labour Market Development Agreement. It will also have access to a $1.5-million research fund over three years that will support research into emerging and best practices intended to strengthen employment policy, programs and practice.

The site, which soft-launched in September 2012, is set up as a division of the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC). This group was selected through an RFP process to create the new BC Centre for Employment Excellence. SRDC is a national non-profit organization and registered charity with a strong presence in British Columbia. It is a pioneer in social projects and innovation.

Through the Employment Program of B.C., unemployed British Columbians can receive the services and supports they need to find and keep a job. In 2012-13, the Ministry of Social Development will invest $343.5 million in employment programs and apprenticeship training, of which nearly $280 million will be recovered from the federal government.

Quotes:

Minister of Social Development Moira Stilwell, M.D. -

"The BC Centre for Employment Excellence is ensuring B.C.'s employment sector has access to the information required to meet the employment needs of tomorrow. Providing both employers and practitioners with up-to-date, relevant information about employment innovation and best practices will translate into better employment outcomes for British Columbians."

Susanna Lui Gurr, managing director of the BC Centre for Employment Excellence -

"There is a lot of work ahead of us at the centre, but we have a talented, dedicated and determined team to do this work. We look forward to collaborating with service providers, employers and practitioners to produce research and information that is useful to them."

Tannis Goddard, founder and president of Training Innovations -

"The creation of the BC Centre for Employment Excellence will help employment and career practitioners like us do our jobs even better. I'm really excited to have a single co-ordination point in B.C. for employment information, research and innovation."

Learn More:

Visit the BC Centre for Employment Excellence at: http://www.cfeebc.org

For more information on the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation, go to: www.srdc.org/

To learn more about the Employment Program of B.C., visit: http://tinyurl.com/aej67e5

Contact:

Grant Kerr
Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Social Development
250 387-5635
250 216-2496 (cell)