In 2020, ASPECT produced 47 Aspectives newsletters. We do this to keep you up to date on what is happening in the sector by featuring newly released reports, news stories, professional development opportunities, and of course, our ever-popular job postings. The other day I wondered, in the turmoil of 2020, what our top stories were for the year. Through the analytics provided by our email mailer, I was able to look back at which newsletter links were clicked the most and here's what I found:

#s 1 & 2

From March 13 was the British Columbia Labour Market Outlook: 2019 Edition. Those from government who are responsible for putting together this report will be happy to know that this story was clicked 5,462 times. Coming in second, from February 11 and March 13, was the government'sGood Jobs for Today and Tomorrow Guide. Kudos to the Ministry staff for putting together a compelling read. 

#3

From our December 18 newsletter, the International Labour Organization report Global guidelines on the prevention of forced labour through lifelong learning and skills development approaches came in 3rd. This surprised me as it was released on the Friday before Christmas at a time when I would expect people to want a lighter read.

#s 4 & 7

Vantage Point and their No Immunity Report: BC Nonprofits and the Impact of COVID-19 from the May 15 newsletter came in fourth. Along with the BC Pandemic Operational Plan Template, published on the same date but placing 7th for the year, it's no wonder that anything pandemic-related would spark such interest.

#s 5, 6, 8, 9, 10

The pandemic has given ASPECT the opportunity to better-connect with our members through virtual meetings and professional development opportunities. We see this in the clicks from the following:

• ASPECT Member Virtual Discussion: Informing the Government Transition Template.
• ASPECT Member Virtual Discussion: Resource Centres & COVID-19
• Webinar: Career Engagement in the COVID-19 Context
• Webinar: Values Based Leadership - Self Awareness, Confidence, and Values
• Webinar: Values Based Leadership - Leadership within the Organizational Context

I am delighted at the engagement and happy to see what kind of content sparks your interest. We will endeavour in 2021 to give you the information you need, when you need it! 


Janet Morris-Reade
CEO, ASPECT BC

Thank you to all of our member organizations and their staff who have supported ASPECT BC throughout the past year. It is with your encouragement and support that we were able to offer 48 virtual member discussions, 29 webinars designed for your needs, and 28 sessions through the ASPECT Virtual Conference this year. At a time when it's hard to remember what day it is, it is important to look back at how much we have all come together this year and how quickly the employment services sector in BC has pivoted to ensure that those seeking meaningful employment have the support and training needed.

You all deserve the proverbial "pat on the back" for everything you do. I'm inspired by how you are supporting your staff and finding innovative ways to ensure that people don't fall through the cracks. You are all amazing and I am humbled to do my part to support you!

Starting today, the ASPECT BC office will be closed for the next two weeks. Thank you to Jennifer Nichol, our Operations Manager, who has been working from home while homeschooling her children, to the ASPECT board of Directors, who have been supporting me with their advice and leadership, and to all of you who continue to be a part of our ASPECT community.  

Janet Morris-Reade
CEO, ASPECT BC
 

As I write this, we have just finished up the final Pecha Kucha presentations for the first cohort of the Values Based Leadership certificate program. Each student presented 20 slides of 20 seconds per slide. In these presentations, our task was to use what we learned to identify a challenge at work, create a plan for tackling it, and a strategy to evaluate our plan. After their presentation, we discussed the challenge as a group and shared ideas and experiences. The whole experience was brilliant! 

A few of us had never created a PowerPoint before, some had never presented virtually, and all of us learned new ways to apply our learning now to real-life situations. I was impressed by the course, the cohort, and Dr. Roberta Borgen (Neault) and Cassie Taylor of Life Strategies Ltd. As the last presentation finished, it seemed like none of us wanted the learning to end and we resolved to create an alumni group to keep the learning going.


A screenshot from Yvonne Russell's presentation about effective communication with team members.

Congratulations to the graduates of the 2020 Values Based Leadership program:

Angela Balkwill - Horton Ventures Inc., Chetwynd
Shelley Burge - Inclusion Powell River Society, Powell River
Andrea Cherchas - Terrace and District Community Services Society, Terrace
Deanna Cormano - Terrace and District Community Services Society, Terrace
Chantel Dempsey - Horton Ventures Inc., Dawson Creek
Jason Evans - Terrace and District Community Services Society, Terrace
Jennifer Feissli - Horton Ventures Inc., 100 Mile House
Angie Fisher - Community Futures North Okanagan, Vernon
Lori Forgeron - Workforce Development Consulting of Northern BC Ltd., Prince George
Heather Gordon - NIEFS, Campbell River
Ann-Marie Gray - Inclusion Powell River Society, Powell River
Kazia Mullin - Community Futures North Okanagan, Vernon
Carmen Phillips - Community Futures North Okanagan, Vernon
Yvonne Russell - Inclusion Powell River Society, Powell River
Julie San Juan - Terrace and District Community Services Society, Terrace
Lindsey Shewchuk- WorkBC / Horton Ventures, Williams Lake
Dave Stam - Terrace and District Community Services Society, Terrace
Steph Torrance - Horton Ventures Inc, Bella Coola

Certificates will be sent out to graduates once final assignments are marked and program requirements are met. 

Again, thank you to Dr. Borgen and Cassie Tayor at Life Strategies for partnering with ASPECT to offer this high-quality leadership training program, something that is much needed in our sector. 

The next cohort will begin on January 11th. If you have questions, please contact me.

Janet Morris-Reade
CEO, ASPECT

It is interesting to me how the pandemic has increased access. Two recent examples of this are how people who would not normally attend the ASPECT Conference were able to this year and how, this past summer, I was able to chat with the Premier about how employment service providers are helping the economy throughout the pandemic. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to "attend" the swearing-in of the new provincial cabinet and it was a first for me as well as a fascinating experience. I was interested to see the faces of the new cabinet ministers and watch the process unfold.

In our advocacy work, there are three provincial ministries with whom I spend the bulk of my time working: Social Development and Poverty Reduction, Advanced Education and Skills Training, and Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation (formerly called Ministry of Jobs, Trade & Technology). All three have new ministers and what is of particular note, there is a new Parliamentary Secretary position for Skills Training. Also, there are Parliamentary Secretaries for Technology and Innovation, for Accessibility, and for Community Development and Non-Profits. To be clear, these Parliamentary Secretary positions could have existed before, but they were not on my advocacy radar so I may be mistaken in my assertion that they are new.

With a new group of Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries to whom to introduce ASPECT members, it feels very much like the excitement I have on the first day of school. So many opportunities before us to tell the story of the work our members are doing in communities throughout the province. It's an exciting time!

The following is the information from the BC Government website with the links to mandate letters. On behalf of ASPECT members, I will be introducing ourselves in the coming weeks.
 

Honourable Anne Kang: Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training

• Mandate letter

• Get to know your minister

 
Honourable Nicholas Simons: Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction

• Mandate letter

• Get to know your minister

 
Honourable Ravi Kahlon: Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation

• Mandate letter

• Get to know your minister

Andrew Mercier, MLA: Parliamentary Secretary for Skills Training

• Mandate letter

• Get to know your Parliamentary Secretary

 
Brenda Bailey, MLA: Parliamentary Secretary for Technology and Innovation

• Mandate letter

• Get to know your Parliamentary Secretary

 
Dan Coulter, MLA: Parliamentary Secretary for Accessibility

• Mandate letter

• Get to know your Parliamentary Secretary

Niki Sharma, MLA: Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development and Non-Profits

• Mandate letter

• Get to know your Parliamentary Secretary

Janet Morris-Reade
ASPECT BC CEO

I heard a new-to-me term this week that explains so much: compassion fatigue. It doesn't really need much explanation because those who have it will be able to identify it right away. Now with the latest public health directive, it's important that we take care of ourselves by ensuring we stay connected to others. Yesterday, I launched a new LinkedIn Group as a result of one of our facilitated discussions we had during the ASPECT Virtual Conference. The group wanted to continue the conversation.  It is for career development practitioners, counsellors, and facilitators and is intended to be a virtual place to share good ideas, group-hack tricky problems, and create a community away from clients to share. Look for ASPECTS of Employment group in LinkedIn to join.  As I write this, the group already has 58 members! I'm looking forward to seeing the information shared and the discussions ahead. Perhaps with groups like these, we can all inspire each other with new ideas and find an empathetic place at a time when many of us are experiencing fatigue.  Janet Morris-Reade ASPECT BC CEO

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the conference live. The feedback has been exceptionally positive and the sessions engaging. If you missed registering, not to worry, we will open up post-conference registration on Monday, giving you access to all of the conference recordings until December 31st.  

As I quickly write this, I'm waiting for the 10:30 breakout sessions to start. I can't wait to hear what the presenters have to say and love the attendee interaction through the chat box. I'm also really looking forward to the recordings of the sessions I cannot attend live. That has been one of the best attributes of a virtual conference to an in-person conference -- I can attend all the sessions!

Here are a couple of links from this morning's keynote and chatbox discussion that might interest you:

Regarding AI: https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/news-events/2017/october/thriving-in-the-workplace-of-the-future/
 
Conversation Guide Link: https://challengefactory.ca/publications/employment-services-and-the-future-of-work/

Bill Gates on the AI tax: https://www.ft.com/content/d04a89c2-f6c8-11e6-9516-2d969e0d3b65

Gotta fly, but thanks to everyone, the speakers, the attendees, the exhibitors and of course, the lead sponsor for your support of the ASPECT Virtual Conference.

Janet Morris-Reade
ASPECT CEO

We are delighted to confirm that we will have a Ministry Update at the ASPECT Conference on Friday, November 6 at noon. Joining us virtually will be Chris Brown, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, and Bindi Sawchuck, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training. Please note that this session will not be recorded. If you would like to hear what they have to say, you will have to attend the virtual session live. 

Also, against my personal comfort, we have created a short welcome video for the ASPECT Conference next week. https://vimeo.com/473917847

Finally, at next week's members' meeting, we will take a moment to show the conference platform and answer any questions you might have. I've spent some time on the platform and it is very easy to navigate.

This is a challenging time, but like the sector we represent, here at ASPECT we are working hard to pivot and adjust. I think that the quality of presenters and topics offered at this year's Conference are outstanding. I hope you'll agree.

Janet Morris-Reade
CEO, ASPECT BC 

Last night I watched the newest Dragons Den episode because I wanted to see how business development would pivot to the pandemic. In it the show featured that businesses pivoted and thrived in the pandemic, and one company launched successfully just two months ago. The innovation and ingenuity was surprising.

It reminded me how our members have been pivoting to support their clients through self-employment programs  and by helping those who are displaced or re-visioning their future careers. Even though service providers are generally not meeting their outcome goals, the opportunities and innovation being demonstrated by all has been inspiring! Perhaps we should host a session to feature pandemic employment stories to spread so of the success stories.

Conference Pivot

The ASPECT Conference will look very different this year, but already, I am seeing some huge advantages of attending a virtual event versus an in-person event.

• I can attend all the sessions! Although I'm still limited to what session I can attend live, I can now expand my learning by "attending" all the sessions through the session recordings. We will keep the recordings available for conference delegates to access until until December 31st. That's 28 professional development sessions for the price of one webinar series. Conference delegates are  eligible for CDP learning credits, too. An exceptional value!
• More cross-Canada, American, and international speakers: No one needs to travel to attend the conference, which means there are fewer barriers to participate. Conference delegates will be able to attend without barriers, both physical and financial. You can sleep in your own bed and kiss your kids goodnight.
• New ways to network: We have seen through our webinars, weekly member meetings, and the Values Based Leadership series how more meaningful our relationship development can be. To this end, we have created facilitated discussions to create communities within our ASPECT community to share ideas and make acquaintances. We will also have a zoom room where people can meet up with their friends and message each other using the conference app. The idea is to create a group of people who you can share ideas with after the conference.

Conference Facilitators Needed

During the last block of the conference we will host some facilitated discussions. If you are interested in facilitating one of the TBD spot, please let me know. It is best if you are currently working within the group meeting.




Janet Morris-Reade
ASPECT CEO

Just in case you were wondering...

This past week I had the opportunity to meet with the advisory committee for the Social Services Sector Roundtable to discuss election strategies.  I'm embarrassed to admit that here at ASPECT, we've been focused on launching our Values Based Leadership series and preparing for our first-ever Virtual Conference. Our organization is not alone as others on the call referred to their budget consultation proposals and the work they have been doing to address the glaring cracks in our social safety nets.  

One thing that became apparent during the meeting was the need to get as many people out to vote as possible. Regardless of who you vote for, the election engagement numbers send messages to those who are elected to office and help form their mandates moving forward. 

There is still time to vote by mail if you request a voting package by October 17. Of course, you can always vote in person using advance polls or on election day of October 24.  

I have two daughters who will be voting in the provincial election for the first time. My husband and I have been dragging them to polling stations since they were babies and now they are looking forward to casting their vote. This year we'll all be walking to the mailbox together, taking selfies to mark the occasion, and celebrating with a pizza for dinner. Perhaps this might seem a little overly enthusiastic but now more than ever it's important for our collective voices to be heard. I hope you'll join me in this endeavour and celebrate the opportunity with your friends and family.

Janet Morris-Reade
ASPECT CEO

Correction: In last week's blog, I incorrectly identified Cheryl Dill's organization. She's actually at Work BC Parksville/Port Alberni. My apologies to Cheryl.