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By Frank Butara, Communications Executive

When the Clerk of the Privy Council, Kevin Lynch, made Public Service Renewal a priority in February 2006 it became clear that the public service had to take recruitment efforts to a whole new level and adapt to the changing and competitive workforce of today.

"Recruiting and retaining the best possible talent is essential to our long-term ability to serve Canadians with excellence and to achieving our Transformation Agenda," said Nancie Proulx, Director of Recruitment at the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC). This division was created in 2007 to address the concerns raised by Mr. Lynch's highly publicized speech in 2006 and to communicate the fundamentals of CSC to the Canadian public.

Career Opportunities

CSC employee, Chantal Guerette,
at an executive development symposium

Generally the public is unaware of the variety of jobs at CSC that are required to operate its 57 institutions, 84 parole offices, 16 community correctional centres, four healing lodges, national headquarters and five regional headquarters, located across Canada in both rural and urban communities.

"When people talk about working in corrections, they often think about correctional officers," said Proulx. "And while we do need more correctional officers, we also need people who specialize in other areas, including psychology, health care, communications, criminology, education, finance, computer science, and engineering."

CSC's Recruitment Division is working on a number of initiatives aimed at educating the public about CSC, and, in turn, increasing the number of employment applications. The inevitable increase in retirements and the continuous flow of interdepartmental relocations have forced government departments, like CSC, to think outside the box and develop a new strategy that focused on recruitment.

"We are looking at other means to entice potential employees to join CSC, such as on-the-spot job offers, for those that demonstrate unique skill sets," said Proulx. "Other initiatives, such as financial support for students and training allowances for recruits, are being discussed to help ease the burden on people who want to make CSC their workplace of choice."

"Changing Lives, Protecting Canadians"

CSC's operations are complex and its work is often not as visible to the public as that of its portfolio partners, such as the RCMP. This makes showcasing CSC to the public a challenge.

Recently, through the Recruitment Division and other initiatives, CSC has increased its efforts to foster the kind of knowledge, education and understanding that improves public confidence in the federal correctional system. With this type of outreach, it will not only promote the organization, but attract "right-fit" candidates for employment. Proulx feels that this recruitment campaign is particularly important because government departments and agencies are now competing with both the private sector and each other for the strong yet limited number of talented people available.

"There is certainly a competitive recruitment market for skilled individuals who are fresh out of school or who have been in the labour market for some time," added Proulx. "We are looking to hire skilled, talented, passionate graduates from a variety of fields and disciplines. We are looking for people who want to help change lives and protect Canadians."

In the Community

In addition to attending career fairs and exhibits across the country, CSC encourages its employees to take a proactive approach to enticing new recruits to join the organization. CSC management recognizes that employees are its best recruiters as they can discuss, first hand,the many benefits of working in the corrections field.

"We often get a number of technical questions when we attend job fairs or career days, so why not have a parole officer, correctional officer, or nurse answer questions. It's far more personal and sincere," said Proulx.

And the number one question they often get from potential recruits is "Why choose CSC over another government department?"

"Simply put a career at CSC means versatility. You can start as a correctional officer, program officer, parole officer or administrative officer and move to other exciting opportunities within CSC. We have a large number of work locations and competitive benefits."

"But the real benefit to working at CSC is the ability to say that you are part of an organization that collectively provides a second chance to men and women, while ensuring the safety, security and well-being of all Canadians. And that is truly rewarding."

To find out more information about CSC please visit our Website at: www.csc-scc.gc.ca, or for job opportunities within CSC, please visit the Government of Canada Website at: www.jobs.gc.ca.