SkillsPlus

back to Education Training Program

Course details

SkillsPlus is a building maintenance program. We currently offer the program to all Maintenance, Building Service Workers, and Building Managers working for BC Housing, as well as provincially-funded Non-Profit housing providers, including our Indigenous Partners.

The modules give the participants the increased capacity to improve service to tenants and can lower building maintenance costs by reducing the need for outside contractors.

The modules were developed in consultation with our maintenance team and our building managers. Each module takes place over two to three days and consists of 12-18 training hours in our classroom. BC Housing trainers deliver the sessions at BC Housing’s Downtown Eastside Learning Centre as well as provides an outreach program in remote and rural areas.

The modules are hands-on, experiential, and focused on best practices. Participant guides are included with health and safety components related to each module.

Eligibility

We currently offer the program to all maintenance workers, janitorial staff, and building managers working for BC Housing, provincially-funded non-profit housing providers, and our Indigenous partners. We accommodate other requests as time and resources allow.

Training schedule

For a full list of SkillsPlus courses and registration details, including any that are waitlisted, please visit our Events page.

SkillsPlus Events

We offer five training modules

One-Day training

Floor Care

• Discuss floor care products and procedures including spray buffing and scrubbing
• Use floor machine
• Scrub floor area and apply sealer and finish
• Floor stripping

Half-Day training

Safety Elevator

Apex Elevator Consulting and BC Housing are offering an introductory Elevator Safety Workshop designed to provide front-line staff of non-profit housing providers including building managers, maintenance, and janitorial workers with a fundamental understanding of how an elevator system runs.

The training aims to increase the knowledge of what front-line staff can do to proactively increase the in-service time of their elevators.

Topics covered:

• A high-level explanation of how an elevator system runs
• Determining when and who to call for a service
• How to assist the elevator contractor or fire department
• Review a checklist of daily actions to ensure elevators are in-service more than they are out-of-service
• Learn what to look for on a regular basis to assist in the prevention of elevator interruptions
• On-site elevator demonstrations will be provided relating to cleaning and safety

Cost

There is no cost to attend the sessions for eligible employees of all provincially funded, non-profit housing providers. Travel costs and other related expenses are not included.

Additional information

We schedule one separate two-hour coaching session for each participant as an extension to the SkillsPlus Janitorial module. We hold these sessions at your individual buildings to enhance the learning covered in the training session. This gives participants the opportunity to ask questions about what they learned and review specific scenarios that relate to their own buildings.