The Government of Canada Participates in the Virtual Career Fair Pilot Project

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 10, 2012) - Today, the Honourable Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board, announced the Government of Canada's participation in a pilot Virtual Career Fair with the Institute on Governance. The Virtual Career Fair will be hosted on Monster.ca.

"I am pleased to announce the Government of Canada's participation in the Virtual Career Fair pilot project, which will assist employees impacted by workforce reductions to find employment opportunities outside of the federal public service," said Minister Clement.

The Virtual Career Fair pilot project was organized by the Institute on Governance. It brings together private sector organizations and impacted federal employees in a direct, confidential and accessible manner.

"This initiative is an excellent example of our Government's commitment to managing the public workforce in a responsible manner and modernizing the way we manage human resources," Minister Clement said. "We are proud to have worked with the organizers to support this pilot project."

The fair will run from September 17 to 23, 2012, and will be available in English and French. Fourteen federal organizations are participating in this initiative.

The Virtual Career Fair allows participating employees to view and search for job opportunities that match their skills, experience and career plans at their own convenience; online, 24 hours a day.

For more information on the Virtual Career Fair pilot project, please visit the Treasury Board Secretariat's Virtual Career Fair pilot project page.

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This news release is available at www.tbs-sct.gc.ca.

BACKGROUNDER

Virtual career fair pilot project

The Virtual Career Fair pilot project was organized by the Institute on Governance. This initiative brings together private and public sector organizations and employees of the Public Service of Canada who have been impacted as a result of workforce reductions. The Virtual Career Fair will run from September 17 to 23, 2012, and will be hosted on monster.ca

The Virtual Career Fair is open to impacted employees of the fourteen participating organizations. In the context of the Virtual Career Fair, the term "impacted employees" refers to those who are affected, opting, surplus or laid off under workforce adjustment.

The following 14 federal organizations are participating in the Virtual Career Fair pilot project:

• Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada
  
  
• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
  
  
• Canadian International Development Agency
  
  
• Citizenship and Immigration Canada
  
  
• Environment Canada
  
  
• Health Canada
  
  
• Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
  
  
• Industry Canada
  
  
• National Defence
  
  
• Natural Resources Canada
  
  
• Parks Canada
  
  
• Public Health Agency of Canada
  
  
• Public Works and Government Services canada
  
  
• Veterans Affairs Canada
  
  

Bringing together private and public sector organizations with highly skilled federal public servants in a direct, confidential and accessible manner fits well with the Government of Canada's efforts to modernize how it does business by leveraging technology.

The Institute on Governance is an independent, not-for-profit, public interest institution, based in Canada. The Institute has an established partnership with monster.ca to support this type of event.

Highlights:

A virtual career fair provides an online version of the traditional career fair experience. There is an information centre, an English pavilion and a French pavilion for participants to visit. Employees are also able to:

• Research and connect with organizations of interest;
  
  
• Search and apply to job openings at various organizations;
  
  
• Interact with potential employers through instant messaging, videos and Skype, or by telephone;
  
  
• Attend seminars and presentations by participating employers;
  
  
• See testimonials from current employees of the participating employers;
  
  
• Find helpful tips on how to have a successful interview;
  
  
• Connect with employers through various social media outlets; and
  
  
• Download helpful information about employers.
  
  

The benefit of having an online career fair is that participating employees are able to search and apply for opportunities that match their skills, experience and career plans at their convenience, online, 24 hours a day, in English and French.

Pilot Project

The Government of Canada will evaluate the success of this pilot project to determine whether or not to hold future online career fairs.