General questions about Priority Information Management System

What is the Priority Information Management System?

The Priority Information Management System (PIMS) is an automated, web-based tool set and maintained by the Public Service Commission (PSC). PIMS helps ensure that priority entitlements, as mandated by the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) and Public Service Employment Regulations (PSER), are valid and that they are applied. PIMS lists persons with a priority entitlement in an inventory which is searched by organizations looking to fill vacant positions. It is used to identify persons to positions for which they are potentially qualified. PIMS is the primary tool used to match persons with a priority entitlement to job opportunities.

What information is in PIMS?

PIMS contains:

• Information on persons with a priority entitlement that is used to match them to positions, such as: 
  • Résumé of the person
  • Occupational group and level
  • Mobility
  • Experience, education and professional qualifications
  • Linguistic profile
  • Priority type
• Requests for priority clearance (organizations require priority clearance before making most appointments); including Statements of Merit Criteria for the positions they are looking to fill.

Why does the PSC need this information in PIMS?

This information is required in PIMS because this is the tool the PSC uses to identify persons with a priority entitlement against positions for which they are potentially qualified. PIMS conducts automatic searches to see if there are employees with a priority entitlement who would be potentially qualified for an available position.

Under what authority is the PSC collecting this information?

This information is collected under the authority of the PSEA Sections 29, 30, and 39 and the PSER Sections 35-39.

Who sees this information?

This information is available to Priority Program staff at the PSC as well as HR advisors and assistants in other federal organizations. Access to the system is password-protected and only verified HR professionals are granted passwords. The passwords and access rights are administered by the PSC through the Public Service Resourcing System. People with access to PIMS are informed about privacy and the proper use and disclosure of the information contained in it. In the case of improper use or disclosure of information contained in PIMS, persons are subject to provisions of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

Information may be accessible or protected as required under the provisions of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

Where is this information stored?

This personal information is protected under the provisions of the Privacy Act and is stored in Personal Information Bank PSC SPB 033.

Will this information be used for anything else?

No. The database for PIMS is separate from other databases and is only used to administer priority entitlements, including statistical reporting and analyses. There are no secondary uses or data-matching of this information.

Can persons with a priority entitlement see their information?

The PSC launched the Priority Portal in November, 2012. This secure Web-based application and window into PIMS allows persons with a priority entitlement to register, view, add and update their personal information only. Access to the Portal is restricted to persons with a current or a pending priority entitlement. The Portal is housed on a secured site and requires that persons authenticate their identity each time they access the site. Please refer to the Cyberauthentification section.

Persons with a priority entitlement who do not have access to an Internet connection also have the right to review the information about them and to correct that information or annotate it. Access to the information is restricted and they can be assured that it will not be used for unauthorized purposes. For more information, please consult the web page: Information about programs and information holdings