How It Works

The process

While we do tailor the process to the participant's needs and goals, most participants follow the following basic process:

1. Initial contact

Participants can get a hold of us through a variety of different ways but the most common and easiest method is through our contact form. At this point we usually clarify the participant's military history and experiences, as well as their goals for participating in the program. Depending on the information collected at this point we may skip straight to step 3, but we usually request that the participant do all of it not a portion of step 2.

2. Introduction interview & WOWI testing

After the initial contact has been made, the next step is the introduction interview which lasts around 30 - 45 minutes. The purpose of the interview is to not only get to know the individual's history and experiences, but also get a better understanding of their needs and goals. At this time we also mine for transferable knowledge, skills, and abilities that could be used for both educational equivalency credits and bolstering resumes. It's not a formal interview, so there is no need to dress up. It can also be done on the phone or via skype if you are not available to meet in person.

We also now request that our participants do the World of Work Inventory (WOWI) online career assessment tool. The WOWI is great for getting a better understanding of what types of work you would be good at, what types of work you are interested in, and what types of work environments are best suited to you. We provide participants with a user id and password and they can take it on campus or on their home computer.

3. Interview analysis

Following step 2 the information from the interview is analyzed based on the individual's desired path(s). Depending on the path(s) chosen by the participant, the analysis time can take anywhere from a couple of weeks up to several months. At this point of time the participant doesn't need to do anything except be available to answer follow up questions as necessary.

4. Follow up interview

A short follow up in person or phone interview is arranged with the participant to discuss opportunities available, the transferable knowledge, skills, and abilities discovered, and develop a plan for the future based on their goals and availability. If a long period of time has passed between the introduction and follow up interview, another short interview may be requested.

5. Path execution

After the follow up interview we work with the participant to reach his or her academic and career goals until either the individual has achieved their goals or they opt out. This part of the program is on-going and can last for months or years depending on the individuals needs.

Equivalency credits and advanced placement

At BCIT we use both equivalency credits and advanced placement as ways to recognize military training and experience. While similar in intent (a faster, more streamlined learning experience), they are very different in applications and outcomes depending on the individual.

Advanced placement

Our most common form of equivalency granting is advanced  placement through block credits. Block credits are a summation of your knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that are acquired on the job (official trades roles and deployments) and through formal and informal (including workup) training. While many institutions recognize formal military training courses that are on your military record, many do not recognize informal or on the job learning because it is not officially documented. The Legion Military Skills Conversion Program uses the introduction interview (step 2 above) to discover and document these KSAs.

According to pre-arranged agreements with certain diploma and degree programs at BCIT, if we discover that you have the requisite KSAs we can bundle them all together with your official military courses to grant you advanced placement into diploma and degree programs. This can mean taking up to one year off of a full time course load. Depending on the courses you took in high school and your post secondary experiences we may ask you to take a few courses or challenge exams so that you meet the provincially mandated pre-requisites (e.g. English 12) and fill any small gaps that will help you succeed in the program. You do not necessarily need to have similar official MOC training in the advanced placement path program areas to apply to the program, though if it is a highly technical program we may suggest that you take a few courses beforehand to ensure your success.

Currently BCIT is the only post secondary institution in North America to utilize this cross functional advanced placement model.

Equivalency credits

These credits are what most post secondary institutions use to grant educational credit for military experience. It is an official course by course examination of knowledge, skills, and abilities compared to the learning outcomes of individual academic courses. The number of courses you have taken directly determines the maximum amount of equivalencies you can receive. This can be somewhat limiting if you haven't taken very many official courses but have significant work experience including deployments and reserve force Class B/C contracts.

While we do utilize this process we prefer not to as it can take many months to develop the equivalencies and sometimes longer if the training recently has been significantly updated. It is also very hard to use this method with unofficial and on the job learning, which often constitutes the majority of the skills a military member has acquired.