BC PUBLIC SERVICE ONE OF B.C.’S TOP EMPLOYERS AGAIN

VICTORIA – The BC Public Service has been named one of B.C.’s Top 50 Employers for the second consecutive year, reflecting the success of changes made since 2006 to ensure the public service is able to recruit and retain the skilled employees needed to serve British Columbians.

“There is simply no other employer in the province that offers the diversity of job opportunities and the career potential available in the BC Public Service,” said Premier Gordon Campbell. “Being named one of B.C.’s Top 50 Employers again this year shows that the innovative steps taken in the past two years are making the BC Public Service a more competitive and attractive employer than ever before.

“That’s important, because government’s ability to deliver the services British Columbians rely on depends on our ability to attract and keep good employees in the face of an aging workforce and an increasingly tight labour market.”

With one in three current employees eligible to retire by 2015, the BC Public Service launched an aggressive plan in 2006 to recruit and retain skilled employees under its corporate human resource plan, Being the Best. Notable changes made to date include:

· Opening all BC Public Service job postings to external as well as internal applicants. To date, B.C. is the only federal or provincial public service jurisdiction in Canada to make all of its job opportunities available to external applicants.

· An Aboriginal Internship Program to help young Aboriginal individuals explore careers in the public service.

· Forgiveness of B.C. student loans for employees after three years of service.

· Employee scholarships of up to $7,500 for job-related training, and scholarships of $2,500 for children of employees.

· An aggressive recruitment marketing program that has resulted in the BC Public Service receiving more than twice as many job applications each month as it did two years ago.

· One of Canada’s most comprehensive employee surveys, which shows an eight point increase since 2006 in employee engagement.

More information on Being the Best and employment opportunities with the BC Public Service is available online at www.employment.gov.bc.ca.

The BC Public Service is the province’s largest employer, with approximately 30,000 employees working in more than 200 different types of jobs in 280 B.C. communities. B.C. has the second smallest public service of any jurisdiction in Canada with a ratio of 8.1 public servants for every 1,000 citizens.

The list of B.C.’s Top 50 Employers is compiled by Mediacorp Canada through a review by a blue-ribbon panel of academic experts. Last year marked the first time the BC Public Service was named to such a list.

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Media contact:	Bridgitte Anderson Press Secretary Office of the Premier 604 307-7177

For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.