Province announces funding for recruitment, retention and training initiatives for allied health and clinical support workers

The BC Government is investing in recruitment, retention and training initiatives for allied health and clinical support workers.

“Supporting the allied health-care workforce is critical to strengthening our public health-care system,” said Health Minister Adrian Dix.

“By investing in recruitment and retention initiatives for allied health professionals and clinical support staff, we are ensuring that people have access to the vital health-care services this workforce delivers, no matter where they live in BC.”

The province is investing $155.7 million to support the implementation of BC’s Health Human Resources Strategy and the Allied Health Strategic Plan.

This includes up to $73.1 million for retention and recruitment incentives to expand the Provincial Rural Retention Incentive and provide signing bonuses for those who fill high-needs vacancies.

Effective April 1st, 2024, the Provincial Rural Retention Incentive was expanded to include more communities eligible where health-care workers will receive the incentive.

All occupations working in eligible communities will receive the incentive, totalling up to $8,000 per year per person.

While Prince George is left off the list of eligible communities, eligible communities in the Central Interior now include:

• Quesnel
• Burns Lake
• Fort St. James
• Fraser Lake
• Vanderhoof
• Mackenzie
• McBride
• Valemount

Signing bonuses will be available for staff who fill high-need vacancies in rural and remote areas, difficult to fill vacancies in urban and metro communities, and for medical lab technologists who join GoHealth BC.

In addition the province is providing:

• Up to $15 million over three years for allied health clinical mentorship, peer support and transition-to-practice support for allied health new entrants,
• $20 million each to the Health Sciences Professionals Bargaining Association, Facilities Bargaining Association, and the Community Bargaining Association, and
• Up to $7.6 million for training initiatives, including tuition credits and bursaries to offset licensing exam fees for new graduates. and new employer sponsored earn-and-learn opportunities.

This work is part of the Allied Health Strategic Plan, which highlights 42 actions from BC’s Health Human Resources Strategy and introduces 15 new actions to advance retention, recruitment, training and innovation initiatives that directly benefit the allied health workforce in B.C.