We are currently moving our web services and information to Canada.ca.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat website will remain available until this move is complete.

Administrative Services (AS)

Questions

Answers

Education / experience

1. Must a manager require acceptable experience and/or training in a field relevant to positions classified as AS when using the minimum educational standard?

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.

2. If the manager requires a level of education that is higher than the minimum educational standard, must he/she also include a requirement for the acceptable experience and/or training in a field relevant to positions classified as AS?

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

3. What is meant by “acceptable experience and/or training in a field relevant to positions classified as AS”?

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. private sector, volunteer work, self-employment, etc. The manager would determine the acceptability depending on the duties to be performed.

4. Would a candidate meet the minimum educational standard if he/she has obtained an equivalency to a secondary school diploma from a provincial or territorial authority?

The levels of education mentioned in the qualification standards refer to the education levels established by Canadian provincial or territorial authorities. Equivalencies granted by provincial and territorial authorities (e.g., General Education Development (GED) which is a secondary school equivalent) must always be accepted as equivalent to the respective level of education.

5. Does the federal public service accept foreign educational credentials from candidates?

The federal public service will accept foreign educational credentials as long as a recognized credential assessment service has deemed them comparable to Canadian standards. If the candidate was educated outside of Canada, he/she must have his/her certificates and/or diplomas assessed against Canadian educational standards. This will enable him/her to provide proof of Canadian equivalency when applying for a job in the federal public service.

The Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials (CICIC) assists persons who wish to obtain an assessment of their educational, professional and occupational credentials by referring them to the appropriate organizations. The CICIC does not itself grant equivalencies or assess credentials, nor does it intervene on behalf of individuals or in complaints to the Public Service Staffing Tribunal. For more information on the assessment of foreign educational credentials, visit the following website: www.cicic.ca/.

Acquired rights

6. When a position classified as AS requires a secondary school diploma, what are the “acquired rights” of a candidate?

  1. Candidates who meet the following criteria must always be accepted as meeting the prescribed secondary school diploma:

    • a satisfactory score on the Public Service Commission (PSC) test, approved as an alternative to a secondary school diploma; and
    • those who were appointed or deployed on an indeterminate basis to a position classified as AS.
  2. The opportunity to be assessed by at least one of the two employer-approved alternatives to a secondary school diploma (see Question 11) must be offered to candidates who have not previously met the secondary school diploma requirement.
  3. Candidates who were appointed or deployed on an indeterminate basis to a position classified as AS via an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience will meet the secondary school diploma requirement for positions classified as AS only. They must be reassessed for entry to any other occupational groups.

7. If a candidate has met the secondary school requirement through an indeterminate appointment to a position classified as AS by means of an acceptable combination of education, training and or experience, would he/she meet this requirement for all AS positions?

Yes. A candidate appointed or deployed on an indeterminate basis to an AS position via an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience is deemed to meet the secondary school requirement for all positions classified as AS. However, if he/she applies for entry to another occupational group, he/she must be reassessed and meet the educational requirements for that group.

8. What is the status of former employees of positions classified as AS who are now working in organizations that do not staff under the authority of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), e.g. Parks Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency?

Since these organizations do not staff under the authority of the PSEA, an individual who has chosen to work in one of these organizations would no longer be considered an “employee”, as defined in section 2 of the PSEA, and would, therefore, lose his/her acquired rights. He/she would need to meet the minimum educational standard for appointment back into a position classified as AS.

9. What is the status of former employees of positions classified as AS who are now working at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)?

A former AS who became a CRA employee maintains his/her status as an “employee” under the PSEA, therefore, he/she maintains his/her acquired rights. CRA’s enabling legislation provides its employees the right to be considered for appointments or deployments as if they were “employees” as defined in the PSEA. However, if an employee moves to a separate agency that does not staff under the authority of the PSEA, the acquired rights would no longer apply and the person would need to meet the minimum educational standard if he/she wishes to return to an organization that staffs under the authority of the PSEA.

10. What happens when an AS employee applies to an advertised process for a position classified as AS and the educational requirement is higher than a secondary school diploma? Is the employee deemed to meet the higher educational requirements if he/she has acquired rights?

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.

Alternatives

11. What are the employer-approved alternatives to a secondary school diploma?

The employer-approved alternatives to a secondary school diploma are:

  • a satisfactory score on the PSC test approved as an alternative to a secondary school diploma; or
  • an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience.

When staffing positions classified as AS, the opportunity to be assessed by at least one of the two employer-approved alternative(s) must be offered to candidates. The manager is delegated to determine if one or both of the employer-approved alternative(s) would be acceptable. Identifying the acceptable alternative(s) on the Statement of Merit Criteria provides greater transparency and provides candidates with adequate notice.

12. What happens if the manager does not specify which alternative(s) will be accepted in lieu of a secondary school diploma?

If the manager does not specify which of the two employer-approved alternatives will be accepted in lieu of the secondary school diploma, the candidate may choose the alternative to be used.

13. Is the manager obliged to use the employer-approved alternatives to a secondary school diploma?

Yes—see Question 6(b) above—the opportunity to be assessed by at least one of the two employer-approved alternatives to a secondary school diploma must be offered to candidates who have not previously met the secondary school diploma requirement.

14. Could the manager accept an alternative to education when requesting higher than the minimum secondary school diploma when staffing positions classified as AS?

Yes. At the manager’s discretion, he/she 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.

15. What if the definition of an acceptable combination used by the hiring manager at the time of the initial appointment is not acceptable by the current hiring manager?

If the employee was appointed or deployed on an indeterminate basis to a position classified as AS via a combination of education, training and/or experience, and remained in an AS position, he/she is deemed to meet the minimum educational requirement. Regardless of the combination used at the time, he/she is deemed to meet the minimum standard, as long as the position being staffed is classified as AS.

16. Can a manager decide that two years of secondary school is the minimum he/she is prepared to accept under “education”, where an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience is used as an alternative to the minimum educational standard?

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 two years of secondary school.

Date modified: