National Area of Selection Implementation: Questions and Answers

General

1. What is a national area of selection?
Geographic limits, known as "area of selection," determine where prospective candidates must reside or work to be considered for job openings in the federal public service. An appointment process that uses a national area of selection is open to "persons residing in Canada and Canadian citizens residing abroad".

2. How is a national area of selection applied?
A national area of selection has been used since 2001 for external recruitment of executive and equivalent positions, and for positions two levels below the executive level. The requirement to use a national area of selection for officer-level jobs in the National Capital Region open to the public came into effect on April 1, 2006 and on April 2, 2007 for officer-level jobs across Canada open to the public. The Public Service Commission will be taking a measured approach toward phasing in the use of a national area of selection for external advertised appointment processes in other regions and for other jobs.

3. What are the occupational groups included as "officer-level" jobs?
Officer-level jobs include scientific, professional, administration and technical positions, such as commerce officers and statisticians. Officer-level positions exclude administrative support and operational jobs, such as clerical and trade jobs.

4. Will National Area of Selection eventually be applied to external recruitments for all jobs in the federal public service?
Subject to the results of impact assessments, the goal is to establish, by December 2007, a national area of selection for external advertised appointment processes for positions across Canada. To reach this goal, the Public Service Commission will be taking a measured approach. The expansion of NAOS for officer-level positions in the National Capital Region (NCR) came into effect April 1, 2006. The requirement to use a NAOS in external recruitment for officer-level positions across Canada came into force April 2, 2007. The PSC will conduct additional impact assessments prior to expanding the use of NAOS for all other occupational groups and levels for jobs open to the public across Canada.

Departments and Agencies

5. What federal organizations are covered by the Policy on Area of Selection?
Federal departments and agencies whose appointments in the public service are made in accordance with the Public Service Employment Act must respect the Public Service Commission's Policy on Area of Selection which includes changes to NAOS.

6. How are departments and agencies expected to manage the increase volume of applications?
To facilitate the implementation of NAOS, the PSC implemented the Public Service Resourcing System (PSRS) – a Web-based recruitment and screening tool – in November 2005 in all its regional offices. PSC regional offices remain available to advise organizations on the staffing opportunities under the new Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) and on the best use of the PSRS to select a reasonable number of applications. The PSC has also made PSRS available to departments and provided a number of them with direct access to manage their own advertisements and screening.

7. How is the PSC supporting departments and agencies?
The PSC has been proactive in assisting organizations in adopting the NAOS requirements. To provide the best service to federal organizations, the PSC has mobilized its resources across its policy, services and corporate management branches. The PSC put in place a Web site, as well as a toll free number (1-866-900-6267) for organizations who may have enquiries on the implementation of NAOS.

8. How effective is the Public Service Resourcing System?
PSRS significantly reduces the number of applications that have to be manually screened by federal public service human resources' professionals and hiring managers, successfully screening applications electronically. In fact, the PSC conducted a study which concluded that electronic screening using PSRS was more accurate and fair than manual screening.

PSRS gives applicants several advantages as well. The tool provides Canadians who are pursuing employment opportunities within the federal public service a clearer, more responsive and transparent screening process and also allows applicants to save personal information on-line and notifies them of job opportunities for which they may be qualified.

Moving away from a paper-based system also benefits HR professionals and managers, by making their work more efficient and less time-consuming.

Applicants 

9. Where are the jobs opening advertised?
Under the Policy on Advertising in the Appointment Process, at a minimum, external recruitment employment opportunities are advertised on the Internet at www.jobs-emplois.gc.ca, as well as on Infotel (a job information system accessible by telephone at 1-800-645-5605 for people who do not have access to the Internet) or on an alternative telephone service provider.

10. Will the positions open on a national level all be bilingual?
(Answer provided by the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada) No. The linguistic identification of a position is established in accordance with objective criteria which are based on the functions of the position. Many positions do not require the knowledge of both official languages and there are a lot of employment possibilities for unilingual Canadians. For instance, in 2004, 61% of the positions in the core public service and 36% of the positions in the National Capital Region did not require the knowledge of both official languages. The coming into force of the changes to the area of selection has no effect on the objective criteria used in the linguistic designation of positions.

11. What impact will the change in policy have on employment equity in the public service?
(Answer provided by the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada) The requirement to use a national area of selection for officer-level jobs in the National Capital Region and across Canada open to the Canadian public will open up opportunities for all Canadians, including persons in the designated employment equity groups. This should enhance access and have a positive impact on these groups, particularly visible minorities and Aboriginal peoples who are geographically concentrated in areas outside the National Capital Region.

12. Who pays for the travel expenses of applicants from across the country?
(Answer provided by Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat - Revised 2007/04/25) When you are selected to participate in an appointment process, the hiring Department or Agency may authorize you to travel on official government business and reimburse pre-determined travel expenses incurred on your trip. Should this be the case, you can consult the Travel Directive and its annexes for more information at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/hrpubs/TBM_113/menu-travel-voyage_e.asp. You must bear in mind that provisions for you, as a "traveller", will be different from those of employees.

Please note that not all agencies, boards and commissions are subject to this Travel Directive and in these instances, the hiring manager will provide you with more information.

13. Who pays for the relocations expenses of applicants from across the country?
(Answer provided by Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat) The Initial Appointees Integrated Relocation Program stipulates that all newly appointed employees to the Federal public service, since December 1 2007, other than EX/GIC appointees, can claim expenses that are relocation related within the limitations of the program.

14. Where can I get more information?
Information on national area of selection can be found at: http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/centres/naos-znds/nr-c-eng.htm.

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