After years of job cuts, the federal government is dusting off its Help Wanted sign.
Not only has it replaced the estimated 50,000 workers who were laid off or bought out during the deficit-slashing 1990s, but it also anticipates hiring a lot more as baby boomers start marching off into the civil service sunset.
Many of the new hires will be professionals, ranging from actuaries to veterinarians.
Claude Olivier, director of recruitment and development programs at the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC), says the situation today is a far cry from the 1990s, when the strength of the public service was chopped by 18 per cent as both jobs and programs disappeared while former finance minister Paul Martin tamed the deficit.
"It's absolutely a good time to apply," says Mr. Olivier of the PSC, the body responsible for filling the 165,000-plus positions considered part of the core federal public service. They are found in more than 75 departments and 1,000 locations. Responsibility for filling another 285,000 jobs falls to the armed forces, RCMP, Crown corporations and other federal agencies.
Mr. Olivier, who joined the public service as a computer programmer at Statistics Canada in 1972, compares the current situation with those halcyon days when federal hiring was in full swing.
Today, with that same cohort approaching retirement age, "unbelievable" job opportunities are on the horizon, he says.
"I'd encourage people to apply simply because of the demographics," adds Gaston Lampron, vice-president of the 45,000-member Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPS), the union representing professionals working for the federal government. He says 45 per cent of permanent federal workers will retire within the next 10 years, resulting in about 200,000 job openings. "And that will include the bosses."
The openings will run the gamut. Although work in the federal public service is a profession in itself, with career paths leading to the executive and deputy minister ranks, there are also professions within the profession. The core public service alone employs about 22,000 people in categories ranging from actuarial science to veterinary medicine, and thousands more work in other federal bodies such as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. According to Treasury Board data, the core scientific and professional employees include 236 physicians, 1,600 nurses, 2,400 lawyers, 2,500 engineers, nine dentists, 12 pharmacists and 436 librarians.
Writer/editor Rebecca Fleming, a 32-year-old veteran of several federal job competitions, acknowledges that public service workers face their share of critics, especially after government boondoggles receive big media attention. But, at the same time, there is usually intense competition for federal jobs.
For instance, the PSC's employment Web site ( http://www.jobs.gc.ca) had more than 1.3 million visits in April, and routinely receives more than a million a month. "There's a lot of competition for jobs," Ms. Fleming says. "I had to beat out some 400 people for a communication officer position, and I think the competition means that the young blood in the civil service really is high calibre. This is important because we're going to be the ones running the show once the boomers are all retired."
Ms. Fleming, who has undergraduate degrees in biology and journalism, has held a variety of positions with the National Research Council, Statistics Canada and Health Canada, and Mr. Olivier says this type of mobility is common within the public service, with people entering job competitions as they search for their niche or find their route to advancement blocked. "You do not get stalled as you might in smaller organizations," he says.
Mr. Lampron, who spent 21 years as an auditor at Revenue Canada before moving to PIPS, sounds a word of caution. He says anyone switching to the public service will probably earn considerably less than in the private sector. For instance, IT project managers who earned $140,000 at Nortel Networks Corp. before the high-tech meltdown might find themselves eligible for a maximum salary of $80,000 to $85,000 in a federal department.
And they'll probably have to be bilingual as well, because most federal positions, especially in Ottawa, are "bilingual imperative."
Mr. Olivier says facility in both official languages is required only in bilingual regions where an employee might either have to serve the public in both tongues or manage employees who speak only one language. However, Mr. Lampron says bilingualism rules are being enforced more strictly today and facility in both languages is a must for anyone "hoping to move up in the hierarchy."
So who finds the jobs appealing? "People with a sentiment to serve," Mr. Lampron says. "You don't do it for the money."
But Ms. Fleming, a BI-3 (Biology, Level 3) in government-speak, says there's more to it than sentiment. "The work environment in the feds is really positive and people-focused. There are tons of opportunities for training, especially language training, and there's flexibility. I work my official 75 biweekly hours over nine days, so I get every second Friday off. You also run into the golden handcuff thing -- the perks are so good it makes more sense to stay than to leave."
Another benefit is more tangible. "When you apply for financing, it is definitely in your favour to say you work for the federal government. The loan departments like that."
However, Mr. Lampron says a shortage of resources across the federal government would make him think twice before recommending a public-service career. "I'd push people to get experience on the outside [first]. . . I'd tell them the federal government is a good place to work, but not the best."
Still, as a recent obituary notice in the Ottawa Citizen indicated, some people remain proud of their government service to the end. It was headed: "Dedicated Public Servant."