Professional Enhancement Bursary: HSPBA

Professional development funds under the 2025-2029 hspba collective agreement

Now that the 2025-2029 HSPBA collective agreement has been ratified, HSA members like you will soon have access to new professional development funds.

As you likely know from the comprehensive report and ratification meetings, there are new professional development funds included in this collective agreement:

• April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026: $400,000 Professional Development Fund
• April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027: $400,000 Professional Development Fund
• April 1 2027 to March 31, 2028: $600,000 Professional Development Fund
• April 1, 2028 to March 31, 2029: $600,000 Professional Development Fund
• TBD $3,500,000 one-time funding allocation for Professional Development

Your union is busily preparing to launch these new funds once the monies have been transferred to us from the employer side and disbursed proportionately amongst the constituent unions of the HSPBA. 

We will notify members via email and our website when we are ready to launch – so please make sure you are signed up for email and/or keeping a close eye on our website as these funds will be disbursed on a first come, first served basis and are usually highly popular.

Of note, HSABC offers additional bursaries and scholarships which can be found here.

2024-2025 Professional Enhancement Bursary

The Professional Enhancement Bursary provided funding for eligible courses taken by eligible HSA members covered by the HSPBA and only covered courses which ran from September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2025. This fund closed on December 15, 2025. 

Your Collective Agreement Rights: Article 17

Did you know that employers continue to hold back millions of dollars in professional development funding that is contractually owed to health science professionals?

Under Article 17 of the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association collective agreement, health authorities and other employers are required to provide employees seeking professional development with as much as $1,000 in funding in each year of the collective agreement. But for years, employers have routinely turned down these requests, often citing budget constraints. This practice is not based in fact – employer budgets provide for this money – and it leaves less money overall for professional development.

For the sake of member career development, and for the sake of a stronger health care system, we need every dollar available for professional development to be put to use. The employer needs to be held accountable for paying their fair share.

Here is what you can do to ensure you and your fellow HSPBA members get more funding to help rebuild the health care system:

• If you don't hear back from your employer about your request or your request is denied, then HSA will provide you with the funding your requested from the employer under Article 17 as part of the reimbursement for your approved bursary application.
• If your employer denies your request entirely or does not provide you with the full amount of funding you are eligible for under Article 17, the Union will support you in filing a member-driven grievance.

Your union expects that grievances on this matter will be successful, and that while it will take time and effort to follow these steps, millions of dollars in untapped money will become available to support professional development and improve the delivery of public health care. We also hope that, after sending a strong signal to the employer on this matter, we will see an end to the practice of routinely holding back this funding, resulting in faster delivery of support from both the employer and the union.

We are asking members to please read the information available on this web page, the FAQ, and the Eligibility Guidelinesbefore emailing with questions.  

If you have a question that is not answered, please reach out by email to ProfessionalEnhancementBursary [at] hsabc.org. 

HSA is responsible for distributing these funds to HSA members under the HSPBA.  If you are a member of a different bargaining unit (i.e. BCGEU, CUPE, PEA or HEU), please contact your union directly for funding opportunities.