Reminder: Professional Enhancement Bursary Continuing to Accept Applications

It’s not too late to submit an application for funding under the 2024-2025 Professional Enhancement Bursary. If you are you planning to take course, attend a conference, or attend training related to your career and profession, or have already taken one that started between September 1, 2024 and August 31, 2025, you can still apply.

You can receive up to $7,500 in funding from your union via the Professional Enhancement Bursary (previously called the Professional Development Fund) to help with tuition, books, travel, and accommodations.

Don’t let the Article 17 process (full info below) keep you from applying – all you need to do is ask the employer to pay their fair share. If they refuse, we’ll provide the funding you need and support your grievance.

Funding is still available!

Here are the details:

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 the Professional Enhancement Bursary over the coming year.  HSA members covered by the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) contract can apply for professional development funding available through the bursary.

What can this funding be used for?

• The training needs to be related to your professional development: 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 fund is designed to help reimburse HSA members for outlays for their professional education, and not for personal development.
• The training needs to start in the bursary window: you can apply to the fund for education or training that began, or will begin, between September 1, 2024 and August 31, 2025.
• 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 (within Canada or the US only) 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 (subject to caps as per the Eligibility Guidelines).

You can find more details about the fund on the HSA website, in this list of Frequently Asked Questions, and in the Eligibility Guidelines.

To prepare for your application, please read the rest of this email to learn about the new Article 17 process that you must follow before applying.

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:

• Approach the employer first and request for Education funds under Article 17, by following the Article 17 process.
• While you are waiting to hear back from your employer, apply to the Professional Enhancement Bursary. You don’t have to wait to hear back from your employer before applying.
• 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.

To learn more about the Professional Enhancement Bursary or to start your application, please visit the HSA website.

Note that members will need to have a personal email address registered with the union in order to access the online application.