
Decent work means opportunities for everyone to get work that is productive, delivers a fair income, provides security in the workplace, social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration. It is also important that all genders are given equal opportunities and compensation in the workplace.
SDG 8 is closely tied to SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, specifically to empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
Education & Research

BCIT has many programs in place to support vulnerable groups and foster a more diverse and inclusive campus community:
- Opportunities for Indigenous students and building pathways for Indigenous learning
- Accessibility Services to empower students to overcome the limits and barriers they encounter during their studies
- Support for prospective international students
Read about these programs and more at SDG 10: Reducing Inequalities.

Technological upgrading and innovation is one of the targets of SDG 8. The Student Innovation Challenge is an annual contest where students go head-to-head for cash prizes allocated to innovative projects and ideas. Here, students are provided with the opportunity to transform their knowledge into building solutions.
Applied Research at BCIT creates practical learning opportunities for BCIT’s students, provides innovative solutions to industry challenges, and produces new, commercially relevant technology products and applications. BCIT researchers and research groups have been working with industry clients for 30 years, helping companies and organizations develop new technologies, products and services. Drawing on faculty from more than 200 technical programs within six BCIT schools, the full-time research staff of our Applied Research groups MAKE+, SMART and NRG, we can assemble project teams with multi-disciplinary skills and expertise.
- BCST 2209 – Practicum 1
- BCST 2235 – Journalism Practicum 1
- BLAW 3805 – Human Rights Law
- BLDC 1020 – Financial Planning and Budget Management
- BSNC 1020 – Context of Nursing and Health Care 1
- BSUS 5110 – Sustainable Business Strategy
- BSUS 7300 – Selected Topics In Sustainable Business Leadership Circular Economy
- BUSA 1005 – Introduction to Business
- BUSA 1060 – Canadian Business and Society
- BUSA 4750 – Business Metrics
- BUSA 5028 – Social Return on Investment
- BUSA 7120 – Values Based Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship
- CENV 4401 – Practicum
- CMGT 7605 – Industrial Relations
- ECON 1150 – Economic Issues
- ECON 2100 – Microeconomics
- ECON 7100 – Ecological Economics
- EENG 7200 – Principles of Sustainability
- FMGT 7610 – Workplace Education Workterm 1
- FMGT 7620 – Workplace Education Workterm 2
- FNAM 4500 – Forest Management
- FSCT 8371 – Business Management for Forensic Science
- GEOM 4025 – Cadastral Surveys and Land Use Planning
- HRMG 3200 – Introduction to Labour Relations
- INTD 6300 – Degree Studio B: Cultural Exploration
- LIBS 7023 – Sustainable Business Ethics
- MINE 2105 – Surface Mining and Blasting
- MINE 4200 – Drilling, Explosives and Fragmentation
- MINE 5000 – Advanced Surface Mining Design
- MINE 6000 – Underground Mine Design and Ventilation
- MINE 7010 – Mine Reclamation and Closure Design
- MINE 7110 – Capstone Project 1
- MINE 8000 – Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility and Indigenous Awareness
- MINE 8020 – Engineering Law and Ethics
- MINE 8110 – Capstone Project 2
- MKTG 7010 – Cooperative Marketing and Community Engagement
- NPMA 1700 – Financial Management for Nonprofit Organizations
- NPMA 1850 – Law and Governance
- OCHS 4520 – Environmental Management
- TDMT 1411 – Compliance and Sustainability
- TMGT 7121 – Principles of Finance
- TOUR 1000 – The Business of Tourism and Hospitality
- TOUR 4401 – Sustainable Destination Development
- VENT 1822 – Personal Finance Fundamentals
Engagement
BCIT conducts regular workplace experience surveys with the most recent completed in 2022. Employee engagement is a good gauge of organizational health and it is a measure of BCIT’s commitment to be a people-focused organization. Regularly measuring employee engagement will help the Institute remain focused on the things that matter most to BCIT employees.

The overall employee engagement score represents the percentage of BCIT employees who are engaged. Engagement is determined by how they answer the six Say-Stay-Strive questions. This is based on research/validation that demonstrates that certain employee behaviours (Say, Stay, Strive behaviours) are linked to better organizational results (thus validates why it is important to focus on these behaviours and that they are linked to organizational success). Examples include: Talent (better retention, lower absenteeism, better wellness), Operational (higher productivity, better safety), Customer (higher customer satisfaction scores, higher NPS, better customer retention), Financial (better revenue/sales growth, better operating margin/income, better total shareholder returns).
Kathy Kinloch, Past-President of BCIT, represented the Institute as the Chair of the Emerging Economy Task Force (EETF). The EETF was brought together in July 2018 by the Provincial Government of British Columbia (B.C.) to provide a better understanding of how global conditions and emerging technological advancements will shape the future of B.C.’s economy.

The task force examined the current state of B.C.’s economy with a view to providing analysis and advice on emerging trends, including new technologies and innovations that will change the nature of business and society over the next 25 years. They explored options for cutting-edge government policies in response to these changes, to ensure B.C. stays at the forefront of emerging economic developments.
The EETF has made 25 recommendations that recognize and build on B.C.’s existing strengths and capacity in order to enhance well-being, sustainability and shared economic prosperity for the province and its residents. Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, social inclusion and environmental sustainability are cross-cutting themes, vital and necessary for a prosperous future economy and, as such, are reflected across the recommendations. The recommendations are presented within five key strategic priorities:
- embracing technology and innovation
- leveraging B.C.’s green economy
- building a highly skilled and adaptable workforce
- ensuring an effective enabling ecosystem
- demonstrating public sector leadership