Frequently asked questions about the qualification standards

Yes. Anytime the minimum education is required, acceptable experience and/or training in a field relevant to positions classified as AS is also required. This "experience/training" element would be an essential qualification on the statement of merit criteria.

No. The manager is not obliged to include this requirement but may choose to do so.

The experience and/or training required must be related to administrative services and relevant to the AS position being staffed. It can be acquired in the Public Service as well as through other means, e.g. the private sector, volunteer work, self-employment, etc. The manager would determine the acceptability depending on the duties to be performed.

If, on June 21, 2021, an individual was an indeterminate incumbent of a position in the CO Group, under this provision, they are deemed to meet the minimum educational standard for the CO Group, based on their education, training and/or experience.

Yes, an individual who receives acquired rights for the CO Group on June 21, 2021 must be accepted as having met the minimum education standard whenever this standard is called for when staffing positions in the CO group.

No. Acquired rights do not apply when the educational requirement is raised above the minimum. The employee would need to meet the higher educational requirement.

No. There is no obligation for a manager to use the alternative. The Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) provides managers with the flexibility to develop hiring processes that best meet their organizations’ strategic objectives and human resources plans. In any given CO appointment process, the hiring manager is delegated to determine if a combination of education, training and/or experience would be acceptable as an alternative to the minimum educational standard. When used, the alternative must be specified on the statement of merit criteria, and, where applicable on the job advertisement.

No, whenever the minimum education standard for a CO position is met through an alternative, it is met only for the position being staffed, and candidates must be re-assessed for future appointments or deployments where the manager has decided to use an alternative.

Yes. At the manager’s discretion, they could accept an employer-approved alternative for the higher level of education as long as that alternative does not go below the minimum educational standard. When used, the alternative must be specified on the statement of merit criteria.

The Government of Canada Financial Management Certificate program was a formal program of study that, prior to 2012, was managed by the Canada School of Public Service on behalf of the Public Service Commission and the Treasury Board Secretariat. Individuals who completed the program, obtained the specialized education necessary to be considered for appointment to positions classified at the FI-01 level.

As of 2012, the Government of Canada Financial Management Certificate is no longer offered by the Canada School of Public Service, and no replacement has been approved. Indeterminate incumbents of CT-FIN-01 positions on September 28, 2023, who were appointed or deployed to their position based on possession of the Government of Canada Financial Management Certificate, will have acquired rights, and must be accepted as meeting the qualification standard for CT-FIN-01 positions.

1. Does this mean that a person with an occupational certification would meet the minimum standard without possessing a degree from a recognized post-secondary institution?

   Yes. The financial community wanted to recognize the professional accounting designation as meeting the minimum requirement for any position that is classified as CT-FIN-02 level and above. Therefore, whenever the minimum education is requested, the wording may be "A degree from a recognized post-secondary institution with acceptable specialization in accounting, finance, business administration, commerce, or economics AND experience related to positions in the Financial Administration subgroup" or "Eligibility for a recognized Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation."

2. May a manager request both the education and occupational certification?

   As noted above, the minimum standard for positions classified at the CT-FIN-02 level and above is always met either through education or occupational certification.

   Therefore, normally the occupational certification would satisfy the educational requirement of a degree and the manager would not need to request both.

   However, in reviewing the work of the position being staffed, if the manager determines that both the minimum education and occupational certification are required, they may request above the minimum standard and request both.

   The decision to require higher than the minimum should be substantiated by the duties to be performed in the position being staffed. It is important to note that when education higher than the minimum is requested, acquired rights no longer apply and all candidates would need to meet the higher requirement.

No. The only recognized professional accounting designation the manager may ask for when using the minimum qualification standard is the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).

No. There are no approved alternatives to the minimum Education or Occupational Certification requirements established for the CT-FIN subgroup.

Yes. The manager must identify at least one of the areas of specialization specified in the qualification standard for positions classified as CT-FIN; either accounting, finance, business administration, commerce, or economics.

A manager may choose to raise the minimum requirements by selecting a specific or fewer specializations than identified in the qualification standard. It is important to note that when the level of education is raised, acquired rights no longer apply and candidates would need to meet the higher educational requirement.

Candidates must have experience related to financial management and relevant to the position being staffed. It can be acquired in the Public Service or through other means, such as volunteer work, self-employment, or in the private sector. The manager would determine acceptability based on the duties to be performed.

The effective date of the EC Qualification Standard is June 22, 2009 .

The ES and SI Groups were combined to become the Economics and Social Science Services (EC) Group. Consequently, upon conversion to the EC Group on June 22, 2009 , the ES and SI Groups ceased to exist. The two minimum educational standards were developed in order to recognize the different streams of work in the merged EC Group and their distinct educational and knowledge requirements. Consequently, the manager must choose the appropriate minimum educational standard according to the typical stream of work as defined in the EC Group Definition.

No. The manager must choose the minimum educational standard that corresponds to the EC stream of work for the position being staffed (see Question no. 4). However, there may be circumstances when the manager may determine that it is necessary to raise the minimum educational requirement based on the duties to be performed in the position being staffed.

The manager should work closely with staffing and classification advisors to help determine the appropriate stream of work.

Yes. The manager must identify at least one of the areas of specialization specified in the minimum educational standards for positions classified as EC.

When selecting specific or fewer specializations than identified in the minimum qualification standards, the manager is requesting higher than the minimum standard. It is important to note that when the level of education is raised, the grand-parenting protection no longer applies. The candidate would need to meet the higher educational requirement.

The manager may ask for other specializations that are relevant to the duties to be performed in the position being staffed but only in addition to those identified in the qualification standard. At least one of the areas of specialization specified in the minimum educational standards must be requested. For example, "Graduation with a degree from a recognized post-secondary institution with acceptable specialization in Economics, Sociology or Statistics and a specialization in epidemiology" or "Successful completion of two years of a post-secondary school program with acceptable specialization in social science, statistics, library/archival work or a law related field and a specialization in business administration".

1. May the education be acquired through an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience?

   No. Candidates must always have a degree from a recognized postsecondary institution.

2. May the specialization be acquired through an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience?

   Yes. At the discretion of the manager, the specialization may be obtained through an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience. When used, it must be specified on the statement of merit criteria for transparency purposes.

   Whenever the specialization is met through an acceptable combination, it is met only for the position being staffed, and candidates must be reassessed for future appointments and deployments where the manager has decided to allow the use of this combination.

Yes. At the discretion of the manager, the education may be obtained through an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience. When used, it must be specified on the statement of merit criteria for transparency purposes and the manager should be able to demonstrate that the accepted alternative is comparable to the education level requested.

Whenever the minimum education is met through this alternative, it is met only for the position being staffed, and candidates must be reassessed for future appointments and deployments where the manager has decided to allow the use of this alternative.

Yes. As long as this individual became an indeterminate incumbent of a position in the EC Group on June 22, 2009 , or was appointed or deployed for an indeterminate period to an EC position after that date as the result of a staffing transaction started before June 22, 2009 , this person may leave and return to the EC Group and retain "grand-parenting" protection. The individual would still be deemed to meet the minimum educational standard for appointment back into the EC Group. The manager may require proof that the individual was an indeterminate employee in the EC Group on June 22, 2009 .

The Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) provides deputy heads with the flexibility to develop hiring processes that best meet the strategic objectives and human resources plans of their organization. In any given EC appointment or deployment process where the educational requirement is for "Successful completion of two years of a post-secondary school program" (Part B), the manager has the authority to decide whether a combination of education, training and/or experience would be acceptable as an alternative to the minimum educational standard. When used, the alternative must be specified on the statement of merit criteria, and, where applicable, the job advertisement, for transparency purposes.

Yes. Computer science is one of the specializations accepted for the IT Group. However, if the manager decides to restrict the specialization, this constitutes raising the minimum educational standard.

It is important to note that when the level of education is raised, acquired rights (grand-parenting) protection no longer apply. The candidate would need to meet the higher educational requirement.

Yes. The educational standard for positions classified as IT provides for the possibility of asking for specialties other than those listed, however the specialty must be relevant to the position being staffed.

The manager can list as few or as many programs as they wish, depending on the needs of the position. A manager may also choose to include a field that is not listed, as long as it is relevant to the duties to be performed.

However, when selecting specific or fewer specializations than identified in the minimum qualification standard, the manager would be requesting higher than the minimum standard. It is important to note that when the manager requests higher than the minimum level of education, acquired rights (grand-parenting) protection no longer applies. The candidate would need to meet the higher educational requirement.

An individual is grand-parented if on December 9, 2021 , the effective date of conversion to the IT group, they were an indeterminate incumbent of a position in the CS Group; or if on  May 10, 1999 , they were an indeterminate incumbent of a position in the CS Group. Under this provision, these individuals are deemed to meet the minimum educational standard for the IT Group.

Yes. As long as the individual was an indeterminate incumbent of a CS position on December 9, 2021 , the effective date of conversion to the IT group, or on  May 10, 1999 , this person may leave and return to the IT Group and retain "grand-parenting" protection. The individual would still be deemed to meet the minimum education standard for appointment back into the IT Group. The manager may require proof that the individual has acquired rights from conversion or was a former indeterminate employee in the CS Group on  May 10, 1999 .

No. Acquired rights (grand-parenting protection) do not apply when the educational requirement is raised above the minimum. The employee would need to meet the higher educational requirement.

No. There is no obligation for a manager to use the alternative. The Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) provides managers with the flexibility to develop hiring processes that best meet their organizations’ strategic objectives and human resources plans. In any given IT appointment process, the hiring manager is delegated to determine if a combination of education, training and/or experience would be acceptable as an alternative to the minimum educational standard. When used, the alternative must be specified on the statement of merit criteria, and, where applicable on the job advertisement.

Yes. At the manager’s discretion, they could accept an employer-approved alternative for the higher level of education as long as that alternative does not go below the minimum educational standard. When used, the alternative must be specified on the statement of merit criteria.

Yes. If education is used as part of the combination (i.e. education and experience; education and training; education, training and experience), the manager may specify that candidates must possess at least a secondary school diploma. In this situation, the manager would not accept any alternatives for a secondary school diploma—however, equivalencies granted by provincial and territorial authorities (e.g. General Education Development, which is a secondary school equivalent), must always be accepted as equivalent to the respective level of education.

The manager may list as few or as many areas of specialization as he/she wishes, depending on the needs of the position being staffed.

A manager may also choose to include a field in addition to those listed, as long as it is relevant to the duties to be performed.

Note:

When selecting specific or fewer specializations than identified in the minimum qualification standard, the manager is requesting higher than the minimum qualification standard. It is important to note that when higher than the minimum level of education is requested, the grand-parenting protection no longer applies. The candidate would need to meet the higher level of education.

An individual is grand-parented if, on October 1, 1999 , he/she was an indeterminate incumbent of a position in the PE classification or a person appointed or deployed for an indeterminate period to a position in the PE classification after that date as the result of staffing transactions started before October 1, 1999 . Under this provision, the individual is deemed to meet the minimum educational standard for the PE classification.

Yes. As long as the individual was an indeterminate incumbent of a PE position on October 1, 1999 , or appointed or deployed for an indeterminate period to a position in the PE classification after that date as the result of staffing transactions started before October 1, 1999 , this person may leave and return to the PE classification and retain "grand-parenting" protection. The individual would still be deemed to meet the minimum education standard for appointment back into the PE classification. The manager may require proof that the individual was a former indeterminate employee in the PE classification on October 1, 1999 .

No. Acquired rights (grand-parenting protection) do not apply when the educational requirement is raised above the minimum. The employee would need to meet the higher educational requirement.