Unpaid Work Experience

Unpaid Work Experience Placement can be advantageous for both employers and employees. Case managed clients may be placed with an employer in a position that would normally be paid, to gain work experience. This helps employers find workers by eliminating training costs and benefits clients by helping them build their resume and references for potential, present and future employment.

 Employer Eligibility for Unpaid Work Experience Placements

To be eligible for an Unpaid Work Experience Placement, a Work Experience Host (employer) will:

• Be a not-for-profit organization or a registered business and provide the business legal name and business number
• Agree to provide the client with meaningful work experience
• Supply the labour, knowledge, expertise, materials, facilities, approvals, licenses and other charges or costs necessary for the client`s participation in the work environment.
• Provide orientation and training for clients

These are only a few of the requirements that the host must cover. The full list and other requirements are available from one of our case managers at WorkBC Smithers. Please contact for more information.

 Duration of Unpaid Work Experience and Hours of Work

Clients are expected to participate full-time in unpaid work experience placements, except:

• When the work experience opportunity is part-time hours
• In the case of clients with disabilities, when it is unsuitable for the client to work full-time
• When BCEA client participant has employment obligations with the Ministry and is required to continue to job search
• When the unpaid work experience placement is for the purpose of the assessment

 Duration and Hours of Work

Unpaid work experience placements must meet the following criteria:

• Job must normally be a minimum of 35 hours per week
• Job may have a maximum duration of 8 weeks (not exceeding 320 hours in total)
• BCEA clients with employment obligations can not exceed 40 hours per week
• BCEA clients normally have part-time hours to enable the clients to continue the meet job search obligations

For further and indebt explanations on the requirements please contact a case manager at WorkBC Smithers.