Dock Member Series: ASPECT BC
Founded in 1990, Association of Service Providers for Employability & Career Training (ASPECT) formed to represent the community-based training agencies in British Columbia and ensure people who needed employability skills and career support would have local access to training. Their mission is to ensure a strong and dynamic employment service sector that supports BC's workers and employers.
We spoke with Janet Morris-Reade, CEO of ASPECT BC, about their time at theDock, how their team managed the impact of COVID, and what’s next in 2021.
1. How long have you been a Dock member? What attracted you to theDock?
We joined in September of 2017 because we liked being in a space where others were doing community-building work and we were looking for a cheaper alternative to a standalone office space.
2. Introduce your organization in a few sentences – what do you do, what’s your purpose?
The Association of Service Providers for Employability and Career Training (ASPECT) provides leadership, education, advocacy, and public awareness to support community-based workforce development service providers. We work with governments and stakeholders to meet the needs of those seeking a meaningful and sustainable livelihood.
Our nearly 100 member organizations are leading experts in delivering career training programs to improve employability and job retention for their clients. The focus has always been on making our communities sustainable by promoting the value of using local people who understand the labour market, have strong connections with local businesses, and deliver the needed training and services.
3. What is your favourite part about working for your organization?
I love having the ability to affect change and contribute to the social and economic health of the province. As proven by the pandemic, the world of work is quickly changing, and it’s an exciting time to help prepare the government and the employment sector for what’s ahead through cross-sector collaboration.
4. How has Covid impacted your organization? Any surprising challenges and wins along the way?
COVID-19 has given us the opportunity to connect more with our membership through weekly meetings, online learning, and virtual community-building. Financially, the organization has had to look for new ways to fund itself. We would have been in much greater peril if we had not had access to some of the emergency benefits and loans. I’m still surprised that we were able to keep the doors opening without cutting staff and without losing many members who were also challenged.
5. How did you adapt this past year?
At the beginning of the pandemic, we partnered with other organizations to provide free training to our members. Our events management services had to transition to from in-person conferences to online conferences and workshops, which was a huge learning curve. Lya, our events manager, did an amazing job and I would say she is now an expert in that has she has managed several conferences, workshops, and web meetings using a variety of conference platforms. In 2017, we moved many of our operations online making the pandemic pivot much easier.
6. What is your team most excited for in 2021? Any new projects?
One of the most exciting things coming out of the pandemic is our Future Skills Centre to undertake a research project. Out of 269 proposals, we were one of 64 nationally-funded projects. We are studying how well career development practitioners transitioned to virtual services, especially in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities. We are also looking at how underrepresented groups are doing accessing employment services and supports in the transition. I hope this is one of many research projects in our future. We have also launched a Values Based Leadership certificate program for emerging and organizational leaders. We developed this as an affordable, online, cohort-based program for those in the social service and non-profit world. I took the course last fall and it is amazing to me how much I learned that prepared me for the challenges of the pandemic.
Learn more about ASPECT BC on their website and follow them on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram.
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