General Pools and Inventories

What are general pools and inventories?

General pools and inventories are lists of candidates initiated by the Public Service Commission (PSC). They are available to all federal organizations.

• Current general inventories (accessible only on the Government of Canada network)

Definition of pools

Qualified candidates

The PSC provides a ready supply of pre-assessed candidates for staffing purposes. These qualified individuals are available to federal organizations on demand through candidate pools. The role of the PSC is to manage the process of creating these pools. The various aspects of this process are pre-screening; developing tools (forms and process); making referrals; co-ordinating testing (for tested and non-tested campaigns, including SLE); communicating with candidates throughout the process (e.g., screened out, answers to questions); and advising clients on how to access the candidate pools.

Depending on an organization’s needs, qualified candidates can be drawn from two types of candidate pools: 

• Fully assessed pool: A fully assessed pool is a list of candidates who have been assessed and who meet the merit criteria of the position. This enables organizations to fill vacancies quickly. A fully assessed pool would normally be used where high turnover requires large staffing volumes for similar positions and where speed of staffing is the key factor.
• Partially assessed pool: A partially assessed pool is a list of candidates who have been assessed for some merit criteria, but who require further assessment prior to being eligible for appointment. This allows tailoring to specific requirements in order to ensure the right fit.

How are pools and inventories managed?

We can create pools and inventories based on needs in various locations, nationally and regionally. They are advertised to candidates on jobs.gc.ca and through job fairs.

How can the Public Service Commission help?

Our professionals can work with you to determine your specific needs, reach out to other organizations to see if they have similar or additional needs, then determine what type of pool is required and select any assessment tools that may be needed. We can also manage the referral process, assist with the selection of candidates for assessment and even help assess them.

Contact your nearest PSC Office for more information.