Thank you for inviting us today to speak to you about recruitment retention programs and all the best practices the Government of Canada has to promote and support the diverse workforce and inclusive workplace.
The office of the chief human resources officer where I work supports the Treasury Board Secretariat as the employer. It is responsible for workplace and workforce policies, and terms and conditions of employment. It provides institutions with data, information, and advice on a range of HR-related issues. The work we do assists federal organizations to fulfill their responsibility for HR management, including recruitment and retention.
The Public Service Commission of Canada plays two major roles. One is the role of oversight to ensure the integrity of the hiring process. The other consists of providing a range of recruitment and assessment services to organizations.
Finally, the Canada School of Public Service has a full suite of learning and development programs, including orientation training for new recruits and other courses that incorporate information on employment equity.
A number of policy instruments also help reduce barriers and support the full participation of all groups in the workplace. These include the employment equity policy, the policy on the duty to accommodate persons with disabilities in the federal public service, and the policy on harassment prevention and resolution.
As part of our accommodation strategy, we also offer employees quiet rooms, which may be used for prayer.
All four employment equity designated groups, meaning women, aboriginal people, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities, continue to exceed their workforce availability for the public service as a whole for the fourth year in a row. However, more remains to be done to reflect the people we serve and to strengthen a culture of diversity and inclusion. To that end, we have certain initiatives under way.
This past summer, 99 students, including 19 from outside of the national capital region, and 20 departments and agencies participated in the indigenous youth summer employment opportunity. Developed through a partnership established last year with the Assembly of First Nations, the program places indigenous, post-secondary students from across the country in meaningful summer jobs in a variety of departments and agencies. Through the youth with disabilities summer employment opportunity, 18 students who self-identified as having a disability were hired by seven departments.
In April 2017, the office of the chief human resources officer released tools that highlight best practices and guidance related to the onboarding experience. These tools, developed with the Canada School of Public Service and 12 departments and agencies, aim to help make the deputy minister's student pledge a reality and to reflect the government's commitment to improve how we recruit, onboard, and develop our student workforce.
More than 13,000 students were hired this summer across Canada by the public service. All of these students were invited to complete a new student exit survey. The analysis of the survey will be used to improve the experience for students in the future.
We are also partnering with LiveWorkPlay, a Canadian charitable organization that, among other things, connects people with intellectual disabilities with work. LiveWorkPlay has 18 successful pilot projects in eight public service organizations.
The Treasury Board Secretariat also supports deputy head champions who help advance specific priorities for the employment equity groups.
These deputies lead the work of departmental champions and chairs. Their work includes identifying barriers and priorities for action, education and awareness, and sharing their best practices. They are at the various stages of developing recommendations and action plans to support employment equity objectives.
When we looked at the challenges faced by each of the designated groups, there are some clear overarching themes, such as inclusiveness, engagement, respect, and particular opportunity for development and advancement.
We acknowledge that we have low representation in the executive category among three of the designated groups. These groups are women, aboriginal people and members of visible minorities.
Our executive leadership development programs optimize diversity and accelerate the development of high-potential leaders within the executive ranks. Diversity is leveraged to every extent possible when selecting cohort participants.
Last November, the President of the Treasury Board announced the creation of a joint task force to bring together both government and union representatives to explore new ways to strengthen diversity and inclusion in the public service. The task force mandate goes beyond employment equity to focus on how we can build a more diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace. The task force has consulted with employees and stakeholders across the public service. A progress update was issued in June 2017. The final report with specific recommendations for diversity and inclusion is expected to be released this fall.
One approach we're taking to reduce barriers to hiring minority and economically disadvantaged groups is to implement a new name-blind recruitment strategy. We’ve been working with the Public Service Commission of Canada on this pilot, which will provide insight on the effect of name-blind recruitment in the federal public service context.
The pilot will compare outcomes associated with the traditional screening of job applicants versus screening in which managers are blinded to the applicant’s name. The pilot will involve external selection processes from 16 participating departments. The pilot’s final report will be released by the Public Service Commission of Canada at the end of 2017.
I know time is limited, so I'll stop there and allow for questions.