HSPBA: 2024-2025 Professional Enhancement Bursary Opens Next Week

HSA members covered by the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) contract will soon be eligible to apply for professional development funding available through the 2024-25 Professional Enhancement Bursary.

Applications for the Professional Enhancement Bursary will open on Wednesday, November 20. To apply, members will need to have a personal email address registered with the union. The application will be online; a link will be posted here and a reminder email will be sent to all HSPBA members. To prepare for your application, please read the rest of this email to learn about the new Article 17 process that members must follow before they apply.

In recognition of the need to help HSA's health science professional members maintain and upgrade specialized training amid ongoing shortage and workload issues, the BC Ministry of Health has provided $4 million in funding for this bursary over the coming year.

• The funding is to be allocated to training and upgrading skills for HSPBA members working in professions experiencing shortages, or in rural and remote locations, as well as ongoing required professional development.
• The funding will apply to education or training commenced between September 1, 2024 and August 31, 2025.
• The fund is designed to help HSA members get reimbursed for outlays in their education.
• The education or training must pertain to professional development in a Health Science Professional discipline being practiced in the public health care system, not for personal development.
• Eligible expenses for reimbursement include tuition fees, registration fees, cost of required books or materials, and other reasonable education-related expenses.  Costs of travel and accommodation are eligible if the applicant must travel or temporarily relocate to attend education or training for related clinical placement.
• Maximum funding per member is $7,500 of which $1,500 is allowable for travel and accommodations.

Because employers continue to hold back millions in professional development funding that is contractually owed to health science professionals, HSA is introducing new steps to the application process that will help ensure more members get more funding to help rebuild the health care system.

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 $1000 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.

In order to change this, both the union and the members will need to do some extra work:

• Members seeking professional development funding will be required to approach the employer first, by following the application process for Education funds under Article 17.
• If any employer refuses to provide funding to a member under Article 17, the union will support a member-driven grievance.
• While the grievance is proceeding, the union will provide eligible applicants with the funding you have requested from your employer under the collective agreement. Your professional development can proceed while the union works on your behalf to recover the money from the employer.

The union expects that grievances on this matter will be successful, and while it will take time and effort to follow these steps, millions in untapped money will become available to support professional development and improve delivery of public health care. It is also hoped 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.