Work Continues on ASTTBC Reserved Practice
On May 28, the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills published a joint statement with Engineers and Geoscientists BC and the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC (ASTTBC) highlighting recent progress on developing a reserved practice for ASTTBC registrants.
Over the past year, steady progress has been made by a joint collaborative working group on a proposed scope of practice for ASTTBC registrants, guided by four policy principles (see May 8, 2024, joint statement).
This work was also informed by feedback from registrants of Engineers and Geoscientists BC and ASTTBC. This included:
- Jointly-hosted focus groups to explore how work flows between technologists, technicians, and engineers, and current perceptions about this initiative;
- A survey of Engineers and Geoscientists BC registrants to explore awareness, considerations, benefits and concerns; and
- Meetings hosted by ASTTBC with subject matter experts, employers, regulators, and associations to provide information and learn what they would need to prepare for reserved practice.
Participants shared general support for establishing a reserved practice for technologists and technicians, and also acknowledged the complexity of this change and emphasized the need for clarity around practice boundaries.
Next Steps
If provincial elected leadership supports a reserved practice, the next steps would be to amend the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians Regulation.
Recognizing that the public, industry, registrants and employers would need time to prepare, advance notice of the changes coming into effect would be provided. When establishing reserved practices for other professions under the Professional Governance Act, a one-year delay in coming into force allowed the opportunity for feedback on the regulation, as well as time to prepare for the change.
An update on government’s decision making process is tentatively planned for Fall 2025.
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