Continuing Professional Development
It’s professional development season for professional accountants and you may be considering whether or not to invest in your staff’s professional development courses. Designated CPAs are required to meet a certain number of hours of professional development, and the benefits of continuing professional development (CPD) should not be underestimated.
With a thought out program of continuing professional development your staff will be more likely to:
- Maintain and enhance their knowledge.
- Be more engaged and confident in their work.
- Be more aware of the changing trends and directions of the accounting profession.
- Be able to make a meaningful contribution to your team, and may assist them into positions of leadership in your firm.
You can learn more about the CPD requirements for CPAs in British Columbia on CPABC’s website here.
Canada-BC Job Grant
In order to encourage employers to invest in the training and development of their current or future employees, the federal and provincial government are currently offering a cost-sharing program to employers called the Canada-BC Job Grant (CJG). The grant application is open right now for training dates that start between December 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018.
More information and application forms can be found on their website here.
What is it?
The CJG assists eligible employers to offset the cost of training up to a maximum of $10,000 per participant per fiscal year (and up to a maximum of $15,000 per participant per fiscal year for the unemployed stream). The employer contributes at least one-third to the cost of training, with the government contributing up to two-thirds of the cost.
Who can apply?
Eligible employers can apply to 5 streams of funding:
- Priority sectors – for employers with small businesses (less than 50 employees)
- Unemployed Stream – for employers looking to train an unemployed candidate. There must be a job offering to the candidate at the end of training
- Rural Stream – for employers located in towns with less than 25,000 in population
- Underrepresented groups – for employers looking to train a candidate such as a new Canadian, Aboriginal people, persons with disabilities, youth ages 15-24 and women in trades and natural resources sectors
- Refugee fund – for employers looking to train a refugee
What are eligible training programs?
The training must meet the needs of the business and result in employment or a better job. Training may include:
- Soft skills training
- Essential skills training
- Apprenticeship and Foundation training
- Management and business skills
- Specialized and technical skills
- Software training
Who are eligible training providers?
Training must be delivered by a third-party training providers that is independent of the employer and training must be the main activity of the provider. Training providers may include:
- Industry Associations (such as CPA-BC PD seminars)
- BC Public post-secondary institutions
- Training organizations run by BC’s School districts
- Industry Training Authority Designated Trade schools
- Industry approved training providers
If you have general inquiries about the Canada-BC Job Grant process please contact Rachel Wicks.
If you would like to discuss how we can perform customized in-house professional development courses for your firm please contact Bridget Noonan or Tom Gillespie.
