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BC Employment Program (BCEP)


Overview: October 1, 2009

Effective: October 01, 2009

The BC Employment Program (BCEP) was modified as part of the ministry’s ‘Response to the Economic Downturn’ (RED) suite of changes and enhancements. The primary objective of the BCEP RED is to provide more intensive employment services for Expected to Work clients.

The BCEP RED is delivered by Contractors in seven Service Delivery Bundles across the province. Services provided in Service Delivery Bundle 3 (Mental Health / Addictions) delivered by THEO BC and Bundle 5 (Immigrant / ESL) delivered by GT Hiring Solutions 2005 Inc. will continue to be delivered in the original service delivery model.

Referral criteria for the general Service Delivery Bundles includes all ETW applicants.  The table below details the client flow for the original BCEP and BCEP RED. For detailed information on client eligibility and referral priorities, see Procedures, Client Eligibility and Referral Priorities.

Client Type Bundle Program / Activity
ETW Applicants*

1,2,4,6,8,9,10

BCEP RED
ETW New Start
(Imm. / ESL)		 5 BCEP Original
ETW Former NEO
(single parents)		 All BCEP RED or Original
ETW Former EI Pending who did not qualify for EI

1,2,4,6,8,9,10

BCEP RED
ETW & ETW-MC (ALL) 3 BCEP Original
EI Reachback
(ALL)		 ALL BCEP RED or Original

BCEP is a comprehensive employment program that provides employment services and Supports designed to meet the needs of individual BC Employment & Assistance Clients who are deemed Expected to Work or Expected to Work-Medical Condition.

The ministry’s objectives for the BCEP are:

  1. Clients who are employable will be assisted to reach Independence as quickly as possible through sustainable employment;

  2. Clients who have barriers to employment will be assisted to achieve progress along the Employment Continuum through increased employability and connections with community services; and

  3. The ministry will achieve improved administrative efficiencies in employment programming.

The BCEP is delivered by Contractors in nine Service Delivery Bundles across the province. Contractors are paid based on a combination of fees-for-services and performance.

The Ministry expects the BCEP to be delivered to clients in a seamless manner as they move through the program.  Responsibilities for the services are as follows:

Ministry responsibility:

  • Referrals – which includes client eligibility and referral guidelines

Contractor responsibility (client services):

  • Client Intake – to assess Clients for their suitability to participate in the BCEP
  • Directed Work Search (DWS) – which provides short-term support to clients who are considered capable of conducting their own work search. For clients in the BCEP RED there is no DWS
  • Individualized Services and Supports (ISS) – which is geared for clients who could, with additional services and support, move into BCEP Employment.

The ministry expects that virtually all clients referred to Contractors will be accepted into the BCEP.  Contractors will conduct a brief interview with clients to determine whether they are best suited to participate in DWS or ISS, with their decision based on the level of intervention required to achieve BCEP Employment.  All clients accepted in the BCEP RED will be directed into ISS.