Board of Examiners

The Board of Examiners recognizes and supports the work of local government employees. Its principal goal is to improve the professional skills of British Columbia's local government employees. The Board achieves this goal through two programs.

• Certification Program

The Board recognizes the professional standing of local government employees through granting them certification. The Board awards certificates to local government employees who have satisfied the educational and work experience criteria, as set out by the Board Regulations.

• Scholarship Programs

The Board is also responsible for issuing scholarship awards to eligible local government employees who wish to work towards certification or upgrade their professional skills.
 

The Board of Examiners is a statutory body established under the Local Government Act. The three member Board is appointed by Cabinet with a representative from the:

• Local Government Management Association (LGMA);
• Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM); and
• Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development

If you wish to discuss the qualifications for certification or any other matter pertaining to the Board, you are invited to contact:

Administrator, Board of Examiners
at phone 250 356-0954, toll free through Enquiry BC, or by fax 250 387-6212.

Certification Program

Regulation
The Local Government Employees Certification Regulation
(BC Reg. 324/2005) came into effect on December 31, 2005. This regulation has modernized the certification program and places greater emphasis on making the certificates grounded in a competency basis. Four new certificates have been introduced:

• Certificate in Local Government Service Delivery (45 KB) - this entry level certificate is intended to provide certification opportunities for local government employees who are not statutory officials or department heads;
• Certificate in Local Government Administration (47 KB) - this certificate is intended to recognize management staff who occupy non-statutory positions;
• Certificate in Local Government Statutory Administration (47 KB) - this certificate is intended to recognize local government staff who occupy the statutory positions in Corporate or Financial administration;
• Certificate in Local Government Executive Management (48 KB) - this certificate is intended to recognize the roles and responsibilities of the Chief Administrative Officers (CAO's) and Deputy CAO's . A Professional Development Endorsement, to encourage a commitment to ongoing learning by CAO's and deputy CAO's, will be offered to holders of this Executive Management certificate.
   

  A requirement for this level of certification is that a paper, on a topic related to local government administration, must be presented to the Board. Further information, including an introduction to the papers as well as all papers successfully presented to date, may be viewed by visiting the CivicInfo BC website.

Top
 

Policy Documents
There are four policy documents that accompany the Regulation. These documents are necessary in order to understand all of the requirements for certification. The documents are:

• Policy 1 - Regarding Core Courses (121 KB)
• Policy 2 - Regarding Equivalent Experience in Another Jurisdiction (131 KB)
• Policy 3 - Regarding Professional Development Endorsement (113 KB)
• Policy 4 - Regarding Subject Areas Related to Local Government (91 KB)

Information Documents
This section contains information related to the Regulation and will be expanded as the Board develops further information documents.

• Regulation Information 1 - Recognized Colleges, Institutions And Associations For Credit Purposes (27 KB)

What do the certificates represent?
These certificates represent a recognition of an individual's academic training and work experience in local government administration in British Columbia.
 

Am I eligible for certification?
To become certified, an employee must meet BOTH the work experience and academic criteria established by the Board's Regulation. In-stream applicants are asked to contact the Administrator for details on in-stream certification requirements.
 

What are the work experience criteria?
Generally, you need to have a certain number of years of work experience in a British Columbia municipality, regional district or improvement district. See the Regulation for details.
 

What are the education criteria?
The basic educational qualifications are identified in the Regulation. In addition to meeting the basic educational qualifications, applicants must also successfully complete core courses which are mandatory under the regulations. These courses constitute a British Columbia education component and are presently offered by Camosun College, Capilano University, Northwest Community College, College of the Rockies, the University of Northern British Columbia and the University of Victoria.
 

Do I need a copy of the Regulation?
Yes. The regulation defines the work experience and education criteria used by the Board when considering applications for certification.
 

Top
 

Scholarship Programs

The Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) Commemorative Scholarship Program
This is a provincially funded scholarship program established to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities. This program provides financial assistance to persons working in local government in the province who:

1. are taking courses leading to certification and/or
2. wish to upgrade their professional skills through enrolment in post-secondary courses of study and/or attendance at other courses relating to local government administration.

The Jeff McKelvey Scholarship Program
In 1986, the UBCM established this program upon the retirement of the late Jeff McKelvey, who served as Executive Director of the UBCM for fourteen years.
 

Any local government employee is eligible to receive an award from this fund to assist in improving job skills.
 

The application form is available here (65 KB).
 

What is the link between the Local Government Management Association and the Board of Examiners?
The Local Government Management Association relates to the Board of Examiners in two main ways:

1. by sponsoring education programs which are offered by various provincial colleges and universities, and which have been approved by the Board to be part of the education criteria for certification;
2. by providing advice and recommendations to the Board.