Government Licensed Professionals: BC’s Experts
From professional oversight to emergency response, public service professionals are critical to the work of the BC Government.
More than 1,800 Government Licensed Professionals work for numerous ministries and agencies across British Columbia, employed by the provincial government. As BC’s experts they include agrologists, engineers, foresters, geoscientists, lawyers, pharmacists, psychologists, and veterinarians.
The following profiles give some insight into their day-to-day work.
Engineers
In 2002, the PEA joined three BC government engineers and the Minister of Public Safety at Bottletop Bridge, a critical piece of the Coquihalla highway between Hope and Merritt.
These engineers were an important part of the rapid emergency response during the flooding and landslides that severely damaged communities and roads throughout BC in 2021, impacting infrastructure that we all rely on.
During that time, they were on the scene assessing damage to the highway and then working long days on the structural and hydrotechnical engineering for new bridges that would allow the Coquihalla to reopen.
Without them, the province couldn’t have rebuilt the Coquihalla so quickly.
Engineers in the public service face significant recruitment and retention challenges, and these professionals are often overworked and underpaid. With climate change causing more frequent and severe weather events, it’s imperative that the BC government invest in its engineers and other public service professionals to ensure a safer, more resilient future.
Foresters
Pharmacists
Psychologists
Endangered Experts
There aren’t enough of these licensed professionals and they are overworked and underpaid.
Staffing levels within the public service continue to face ongoing challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified professionals because of:
- Compensation – When compared with public service jobs at the municipal and federal level, as well as many other provinces and private sector jobs within the province, BC public service professionals are compensated less. This is frequently cited as the main reason why professionals leave the BC public service.
- Burnout – These experts report high rates of concern with their ability to meet the mandate of their ministries. This leads to stress and burnout. This burnout is further heightened by the conditions faced by members involved in emergency responses such as wildfires, flooding and slides.
- Position vacancies – Without compensation structures to allow for career development and progression, these professionals are forced to leave the public service to further their career growth.