This tab lists an organization’s Contacts – individuals who may log-on to Direct Access and act in the organization’s behalf and view information that the organization is privy to. An organization must have just one Primary Contact designated at all times, and may have any number of Secondary contacts. Only the Primary Contact may change organization contact info, approve or reject online apprenticeship applications, and add or remove Secondary Contacts. (or designate a new Primary Contact) All correspondence (mail or email) will be addressed to the Primary Contact’s attention. Primary and Secondary Contacts have the same ability to view apprentices’ files or enter results.

The address window above the list of contacts indicates the organization’s preference for receiving notifications from Direct Access (mail or email) and the address to be used.

PRIMARY CONTACT RESPONSIBILITIES

1. The primary contact is responsible for insuring that the organization and its staff are aware of and comply with the terms of the information sharing agreement with the ITA, and their responsibilities under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy act (FOIPPA)
2. In discussions with individuals outside their organization, they must comply with the ITA Information Sharing and Caller Authentication Protocols
3. Before adding new individuals as organization contacts, they are responsible for insuring that these individuals understand their responsibilities under 1. and 2.
4. When contacts leave the organization or when their job responsibilities no longer include the training or administration of apprentices, the primary contact must promptly remove them from the list of contacts.

Adding Secondary Contacts

There are three questions to consider when adding a secondary contact to your organization:

1. Are they already on your list of contacts?

Direct them to call Customer Service to activate their account and get their Individual ID.  The Primary Contact need do nothing more – once they log on to Direct Access, they will have the required access to your organization and apprentice records.

2.  Are they a trades worker in BC?

It is very likely that they already have an account in Direct Access, under their old Trades Worker ID (a.k.a. TWID)   DIrect them to call Customer Service to find and activate their account and confirm their Individual ID.  They should supply this number to the Primary Contact, so that they can add them as a Contact.

3. Are they a new user?

The Primary Contact can then navigate to their organization’s Contacts tab and click ‘Add Contact’, at which point they will be prompted for the new contact’s Individual ID.  Secondary Contacts can only be added if their Individual ID number is known –for privacy reasons searching by name is not permitted.

Designating a new Primary Contact

The Primary Contact may transfer the Primary Contact role to one of the Secondary Contacts. To do so, the Primary Contact must navigate to their organization’s Contacts tab, un-tick the ‘Primary’ checkbox beside their name, tick the checkbox next to one of the Secondary Contacts, then press ‘Save’. As soon as ‘Save’ is pressed, the former Primary Contact immediately becomes a Secondary Contact, and all special administrative rights for the organization are transferred to the new Primary, including:

•  Review and approve or reject online apprenticeship applications
•  Adding or removing Contacts
•  Changing organization info such as address and phone numbers
•  All letter mail will be addressed to the new Primary

Tips for Use

The primary contact is an administrative role and should be the person in your organization who handles the bulk of apprenticeship paperwork, not necessarily always the owner / manager.

Be sure to Save your changes before leaving this tab.