Employees

Employment Assistance Worker

Employee Name:

Treen MacColl

Title:

Employment Assistance Worker

Ministry:

Housing and Social Development

Background:

Education: Diploma, Office Administration (Malaspina University College)
Member of the BC Public Service Since: 1990

My Role

I recently obtained a position with the North Island Housing Integrated Task Team, so I am responsible for ensuring the accountability and integrity of shelter payments paid on behalf of Ministry clients and I assist clients with housing issues, refer clients to appropriate agencies when required and identify and mitigate high risk accommodations. I also liaise with many different agencies and city staff (bylaw, fire dept, RCMP) to make safer residences and communities. I have the opportunity to identify trends and gaps in services which I can then communicate up, which has been a very positive experience.

Career Path:

I worked with the Ministry of Health in Public Records Administration and as a Mental Health Referral Worker, and later went on to Records Management Freedom of Information (FOI) Coordination. I left to become a Financial Assistance Worker and on to my current role as an Employee Assistance Worker, which is something completely new.

What I Like Best:

What I like is the opportunity to assist our most vulnerable citizens and actually be able to make some positive difference for some of them. I'm finding I can be creative, I can be innovative; there is definitely a place for people like that here. I was able to define this program and it grows with me. Where we started out from to where we are a year later is totally different from where we thought it would be. It's very rewarding.

Ideas At Work:

My program has developed and continues to expand based on my ideas and those of others, so I know the impact and it's very gratifying! I get out and do the best job for those who can't speak for themselves and I have a good understanding of what their issues are. If you address those issues now, that impacts everybody in the community. Every opportunity I get, I hope to educate the public to be a little more understanding of people.

Advice:

You can have a very diverse background to get into this role; you don't have to take a related path to get here. Overall, if you are going to work with the public, you need to be able to work with people, especially if you are going to be working with the more vulnerable people in the community. A lot of the things you've done in your past, such as volunteering, can help you and really open doors. You definitely have to have a passion, this isn't a job you can just do in the interim.