Occupational Standards and Competencies for Community Governments

Northerners are concerned about developing the right set of skills to guarantee success at work. With increased competition both in our home communities and from others moving north, skills and knowledge have never been more important. Occupational standards can help northern residents identify the skills needed to succeed.

What are Occupational Standards?

Occupational standards describe the skills, knowledge and attitudes needed to perform Competently in your chosen work area. Occupational standards can help community governments and individual staff members plan their skill development and maintain or increase their competencies. Occupational Standards are voluntary, and will benefit both the employers and employees (community government staff.)

Occupational standards can help community governments:

• Recruit, develop and maintain a skilled workforce;
• Ensure that occupational requirements and expectations are consistent and equitable;
• Increase competitiveness and productivity in community positions;
• Facilitate the mobility of a northern workforce;
• Identify and communicate training needs of employees;
• Support instructional programs (such as the School of Community Government);
• Upgrade the skills of community government staff;
• Design and/or implement assessment and evaluation tools;
• Develop accreditation and certification processes;
• Enhance community government’s and the communities image.

How do our standards help our community government staff?

• Identify skills, knowledge and attitudes needed for occupations.
• Provide a reference to assess ability and training needs.
• Identify and support clear career paths in community governments areas of responsibility.
• Provide guidelines for certification/accreditation and a path to achieve such.
• Increase mobility within northern communities.
• Provide a benchmark for rewarding experience, knowledge and competence.

How do our occupational standards help our community government?

• Increase productivity of staff achieving community results.
• Improve quality of services to community residents.
• Reduce costs for recruitment of staff by facilitating the selection of new employees.
• Provide an effective means for better human resource planning, usually leading to longer retention of staff.
• Help the effective upgrading of skills and knowledge and attitude of staff.

How are occupational standards developed?

Occupational standards are developed by both the employers and employees working together through a Standards Development Committee. This committee (which is coordinated by the School of Community Government and the Department of Education Culture & Employment) selects a group of practitioners to develop a draft occupational analysis (A map of the skills, knowledge and attitudes for the occupation). Then the draft is validated by an Industry Validation Committee. The analysis becomes the occupational standards when it is endorsed by a SIAC and approved by the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment under the Apprenticeship, Trades and Occupations Act.

Human Resources Development Canada also contributes to the development of occupational standards through the Sectoral Partnership Initiative by providing funding, technical advice and guidance.

The School of Community Government:
(toll free)1-877-531-9194
1-867-920-3159
(fax)1-867-873-0584