Snapshot

ASPECT

Association of Service Providers for Employability and Career Training BC’s Community Based Trainers

ASPECT is . . . a provincial association made up of over 140 members who provide employability and career training to people with barriers to employment; some members are private trainers and some are non-profit agencies.

ASPECT membership . . . is available to organizations in BC that provide community based employment and career training. ASPECT members deliver a variety of programs and services designed to assist individuals to overcome their employment disadvantages.

ASPECT exists to . . facilitate resource sharing and problem solving between agencies, promote good working relationships between agencies and government and to coordinate professional development opportunities for the management and staff of member agencies.

ASPECT administers . . .Job Start, a wage subsidy program for young people aged 17 to 24 and Training Works! A workplace based training program. ASPECT subcontracts the delivery of these programs to its qualified member agencies.

ASPECT members receive:

• Coordination and assistance with advocacy activities
• Requests for proposals to administer ASPECT programs
• A provincial directory of all member agencies
• Quarterly newsletter ASPECTIVES
• Information about regional professional development activities, and
• Invitations to participate in conferences and the Association’s Annual General Meeting.

ASPECT advocates . . . on behalf of its member agencies and their clients, both federally and provincally. On the national front, ASPECT represents its members with the following committees and organizations:

• The Canadian Coalition of Community Based Trainers (CCCBT)
• The Canadian Association of Education and Training Organizations (CAETO)
• The Canada Career Consortium (CCC)
• The National Headquarters of Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), and
• The National Reference Committee for the First Source web site

ASPECT Board of Directors . . . consists of executive members as well as regional representatives from the Fraser Valley, Thompson-Oakanagan, Kootenays, Vancouver and Vancouver Island. The Board meets frequently to exchange information through networking, events and conference calls. ASPECT maintains a provincial office, located in Victoria.

Denise Dawson is a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) with a background in the management of a large non profit community based training agency. As Director of Membership Services with ASPECT, her role is to provide members with information, research, advocacy and professional development opportunities.