INFO-PSC Newsletter
July 2009
Message from the President - Assurance to Parliament and Canadians
The Public Service Commission (PSC) welcomes Parliament’s interest in our reports and the opportunity to study issues of importance to Parliamentarians. The PSC is an independent agency reporting to Parliament. It is mandated to safeguard the integrity of the public service staffing system and the political neutrality of the public service.
PSC pools solutions: No time to staff? We'll do it for you!
Pools of candidates offered by the Public Service Commission on cost recovery are in popular demand.
New Test Results Search Tool speeds staffing
On April 1, 2009, the Public Service Commission (PSC) launched the Test Results Search Tool (TRST). The TRST is a Web-based application giving human resources specialists access to official Second Language Evaluation (SLE) test results electronically for candidates who have a Personal Record Identifier. The TRST replaced Public Works and Government Services Canada’s decommissioned Personnel Applications Centre mainframe service that previously provided SLE results.
What's the buzz about jobs.gc.ca?
On Thursday, June 25, 2009, the Public Service Commission launched Quick Search the latest in a series of improvements to the jobs.gc.ca Web site.
Five-year review of the Public Service Employment Act – preparatory phase
The Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), which came into effect in December 2005, requires that the Act be reviewed five years after its coming into force. Now, three years into the implementation of the Act, the Public Service Commission (PSC) is undertaking an assessment of the lessons learned in that time, to identify amendments that might be made to PSEA and PSC policies and to help anticipate ways to maintain the excellence of the public service. The results of the PSC’s work will be tabled in a special report to Parliament in late 2010 and will form the basis of the PSC’s contribution to the formal review of the PSEA.
Recruitment rates for employment equity groups
The Public Service Commission has developed a new methodology to estimate the recruitment rates of three employment equity groups — Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and visible minorities — to the federal public service. The methodology matches self-declaration data obtained from the Public Service Resourcing System with the appointment data.
The Federal Student Work Experience Program (FSWEP) is the largest program that allows students to obtain experience working for the federal public service. The Public Service Commission carried out an audit of this program using a sample of 11 federal organizations subject to the Public Service Employment Act. These organizations accounted for slightly under 80% of all FSWEP-related student hires at the federal public service for the period from April 1, 2006, to March 31, 2007. On the whole, the program operates relatively well.