28 WorkSafeBC Coverage
Provided the institution has sought the appropriate approval (via their Human Resources Department submitted to the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training), for the purposes of work experience, students in ASE ER programs are considered to be “Employees of the Crown” and, as such, are covered by WorkSafeBC BC. Copies of the relevant policies are included in the appendix.
Practicum/Work Experience Students
Effective January 1, 1994, WSBC coverage was extended to all students participating in the practicum or work experience component of a program offered by an eligible institution, regardless of the source of funding for the program.
Further clarification of this coverage was provided on March 29, 1994:
To be designated as a practicum for the purpose of obtaining provincial WSBC coverage for students, the practical, on-the-job training must meet the conditions/provisos of the definition as stated and expanded below.
A practicum/work experience is defined as:
- An assigned work experience component of a program which is sanctioned by the institution;
- A required component of the program which is included in the program description in the institutional calendar, normally as a credit course; and which must be successfully completed by the student as a requirement for program graduation and certification; and
- Unpaid work activities which are supervised by the employer or a qualified designate, and which occur at the employer’s regular business location.
The practicum may occur either:
- “Off-site” at the host employer’s regular place of business; or
- “On-site” at the training institution’s premises, but only in a work place that is part of the institution’s regular business activities, such as an office administration practicum in the administration department of an institution.
Practical work experience which occurs at work places that have been established by the institution for the purpose of simulated work training for a given program does not meet the conditions of a practicum for the purposes of provincial WSBC coverage for students.
