About a week and a half ago, ASPECT participated in a conference call with the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, Hon. Shane Simpson, his Deputy Minister David Galbraith, his Assistant Deputy Minister Chris Brown, ministry staff, and successful WorkBC contractors and their subcontractors. There were approximately 140 lines dialed into the call in which the Minister and his staff walked through key changes in the WorkBC model, intended benefits, and the key performance indicators that they would be monitoring.
The Minister and staff proposed some discussion questions and asked for further questions to be submitted in advance and after the meeting. Some questions were addressed, but the list was long and we were promised that all questions would be answered in a couple of weeks. During the call, Minister Simpson asked for our members' to help identify and find solutions to some of the expected issues under the new contract, especially pertaining to challenges of rural and remote services providers.
Accordingly, I have scheduled a virtual discussion meeting to discuss rural and remote challenges under the new contract set for Friday, February 22 from 10:00-11:00 am. For more details and to RSVP your participation, please go to our
website.
Whether you are delivering a WorkBC contract or supporting one as a subcontractor, ripples of change are being felt throughout the sector.
In an effort to support our members, ASPECT has partnered with Dr. Roberta Neault of Life Strategies Ltd. to provide a 2-session webinar with online learning resources called
"Thriving Through Transition". This workshop will:
- Explore the impact of change, and the transition process on already full lives.
- Teach strategies for staying positive and optimistic during challenging times.
- Reflect on participants' careers, exploring what’s next and what’s possible.
- Examine how the interaction between capacity and challenge impacts career engagement.
Whether you are suffering a loss of a job or ramping up for a new contract, this professional development opportunity will provide you with the tools you need to come out on top. As always, I welcome your comments and concerns.
Janet Morris-Reade
