The Building Officials' Association of British Columbia (BOABC), a chartered Chapter of the International Code Council since 1988, continues to expand around existing and new examinations, based on the current National Building Code of Canada and the British Columbia Building Codes. The exam development partnership between ICC and BOABC has resulted in a record number of certifications being issued to inspectors and leads the way for national certification and uniform training recognized throughout Canada.

As a non-profit corporation, the Association provides education, training and certification examinations for over 675 building officials, inspectors, plans examiners and building code consultants working throughout the Province of British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. In the last fiscal year, the number of BOABC members and students completing examinations broke the record of examinations completed in any previous year. New jointly developed plumbing examinations will further increase the number of certifications issued and raise the benchmark even more in 2012. The BOABC is the only jurisdiction in Canada that has all of its certification examination testing services, including development and grading, done through a partnership with ICC.

Working together and as an early leader, BOABC has been instrumental in supporting the Alliance of Canadian Building Officials (ACBOA) and their national initiative for recognized standard inspector certifications and training. BOABC even provided exam questions which it developed with ICC to help found the national Canadian certification model. BOABC continues to be a strong leader in working with other Canadian provinces in helping lay the foundation, supporting national certification, and recognizing the need to eliminate dissimilar and redundant provincial certifications. BOABC and ACBOA now offer a certification program that allows for greater professional recognition across Canada which will provide greater recognition and easier professional mobility.

In addition, the ICC has developed six new general knowledge courses and three courses based on Canada’s National Building Code (CNBC), used throughout Canada by way of agreements with ACBOA. These courses will be used to train new and existing inspectors for certification and help meet the growing demand for building officials in BC and other Canadian jurisdictions. As more jurisdictions begin using the new national certification standard, the easier it will be for building inspectors and plans examiners to work across Canada and the world to meet the record-breaking demand.

For more information on Canada's national certification and training programs, please contact: Jim Bax, Vice President of Program Development, ext. 7713.

Richard Bushey
BOABC Executive Director