Searching for jobs a profitable prospect (for some)

It was a story which was first reported over the weekend, buried as it was in the less than prime time weekend digital wash of the television wasteland. Global BC had the largest footprint on the story, with a rather in depth piece on the late news Sunday night, about the contracting out of the Provincial job search industry. Their report was followed up by a report from an on line Vancouver Island magazine called Monday Magazine, which had a few other details to help flesh out the investigative pieces.

The focus of the stories are an internal audit conducted about the JobWave and Destinations job employment services amongst others, which are in place to assist welfare recipients find gainful employment. The JobWave program is operated throughout the province, partnering with the offices of various Chamber of Commerce's and Business Development Societies and such, locally the Hecate Strait Business Development Society is listed as the main street location in Prince Rupert for enquiries.

Local residents, once registered with the program can then utilize a computer system that allows them to register for jobs and view a job board. Unless you qualify for the program and register, you can’t access the data base beyond a simple list of generic job titles. The full details such as contacts and employer names are only given out when you have a registration number. Which we gather is the way that JobWave and its corporate office and partners receive their payment for services provided.

As for the Provincial program, some of the stories reported on over the weekend described a program that at times seems as interested in statistics as it is in jobs. In one instance keeping a deceased person listed on the job search rolls, which inadvertantly kept the billing alive, while the subject had died.

Another participant in the program went on camera to state that she had signed off on the program as a success, even though she had basically found her own job without their help. For her troubles she was provided with new clothes and shoes, a parting gift we gather for her participation as humble as it was.

The story raises some important questions about some of the mechanisms in place regarding the job searching and billing of the program, which seems to be bordering on that territory known as the boondoggle.

With potentially 16 million dollars overpaid by the government to the companies over four years, there should be a loud cry and a full investigation into the credibility of the services and whether they really do provide what they say they do.

The audit is said to be welcomed by those companies involved who claim they have paid back any undeserved monies and are tightening up their regulations.

The Opposition NDP discovered the controversial aspects of the program through an access to information request. But they won’t be able to do much with their newfound knowledge, including some ties between a company involved and the BC Liberals.

With no legislative session planned for this fall since the government didn't feel that there was anything to discuss, any questions that they have, will have to wait until the next time our legislators get together in Victoria. Until then the government will have to acknowledge the call of the NDP for an independent audit into the situation. Which might be enough to calm the waters.

Unless of course more of the mainstream media take an interest in a job service that seems to be providing just as many questions as it does job leads.

As a form of backgrounder on the story, we provide the Mondaymag piece below from their website.

Work programs overpayed
Monday Morning
Monday, October 16, 2006

An audit of provincial job placement contracts shows the government may have overpayed companies by up to $16 million over a four year period.

"We estimate the possible financial exposure to the ministry from inaccurate billing data to be between $1 and $4 million in overpayments per year," says the finance ministry audit dated March 31, 2005 and obtained by the NDP through a freedom of information request. "It is our opinion that there are no effective processes in place to ensure the accuracy and validity of payments to service providers."

The main programs covered in the audit are JobWave, run by WCG International Consultants Ltd., and Destinations, run by the accounting firm Grant Thornton. Both programs are supposed to help people receiving welfare find jobs. Representatives of Grant Thornton did not return calls by press time.

"Any monies the government told us we'd been overpaid, we paid back at the end of the contract," says Robin Adair, a spokesperson for WCG, who had not seen the audit himself. He says the amount paid back would have been around $50,000. "We try to run a very tight and honest ship and we welcome audits."

In some cases, says the audit, contractors may have been paid for clients who left welfare for other reasons. Two of the four contractors have made an "informal agreement" with the ministry not to collect payments for clients who have died, it mentions at one point.

Employment and income assistance minister Claude Richmond was unavailable for comment.
"We need independent investigation on this situation," says Jagrup Brar, the NDP's critic for the employment and income assistance ministry. "I've asked the minister and the premier to find ways to get the money back. They are saying they have no plans to do that."

Companies affiliated with West Coast Group and Grant Thornton have given over $100,000 to the B.C. Liberal party since 1999, he points out.

The ministry "revamped" its job programs last year, but after a year-long process announced in July it was handing $35 million in contracts to three firms, including companies run by West Coast Group and Grant Thornton.