The BC Employment Network (BCEN) formally kicked off as the “Employment Training Network” in 2007 after many months of informal networking among agencies from around the Lower Mainland. The Network worked hard in the early years to establish the curriculum for the four courses that are delivered throughout BC (and occasionally in other provinces) today.

Janice Barr was Executive Director for the Richmond Society for Community Living at the time the Network was founded. “In the early days, there was a lot of work among the Network partners and other groups around the province. The work was never intended only to benefit our own organizations – it was intended to support people with developmental disabilities across the province.”

“Employment has been the frontier for inclusion services for the past two decades. Today, employment is becoming mainstream for people with developmental disabilities. BC Employment Network have been key provincial leaders in this shift,” noted Jack Styan, VP Strategic Initiatives and Shelley Gerber, Provincial Employment Coordinator, CLBC.

"Advancing the employment aspirations of youth and adults with intellectual disabilities is at the heart of the BCEN. Collaboration is a very effective strategy to discover solutions to complex challenges", says Dan Collins, CEO of Inclusion Langley Society. The members of the BCEN have repeatedly demonstrated that when we work together, we are agents for positive change and growth.

Delta Community Living Society CEO Anita Sihota adds “the Network has proven to be a wonderful collaboration towards our shared goal of encouraging and supporting individuals to secure and maintain employment. The BCEN will be working with partners on hosting the World Employment Conference in 2023 along with continuing to provide employment training across the Province.”