National Area of Selection - Backgrounder

Greater access to job opportunities for Canadians

Under the Public Service Employment Act, the Public Service Commission (PSC) has the authority to set geographic limits on who can apply for jobs in the federal public service. The PSC sets out requirements and guidelines on these geographic boundaries in its Policy on Area of Selection (NAOS).

Multi-phased implementation

On November 13, 2007 the PSC announced it will begin pilot projects on the expansion of NAOS to non-officer level positions open to the public in December 2007, with the goal of full implementation by December 2008. The PSC also announced the expansion of NAOS to apply to all full-time Federal Student Work Experience Program (FSWEP) job opportunities beginning with the next recruitment campaign in fall of 2008. These are the latest steps in the PSC’s phased in approach to implementing the NAOS policy.

Since 2001, NAOS has been in place for jobs open to the public at the executive level, as well as some senior officer-level positions. In April 2006, officer-level jobs open to the public and located in the National Capital Region came under NAOS.

A year later, in April 2007, the PSC expanded the use of NAOS for jobs open to the Canadian public. NAOS must now be used for externally advertised appointment processes for officer-level positions across Canada. These jobs consist of scientific, professional, technical and administration positions. Examples include commerce officers, statisticians and technicians.

The responsible approach to full implementation

Full application of NAOS to all remaining groups and levels was initially targeted for December 2007, subject to an impact assessment. Upon review of initial impact findings, the PSC has determined that more work needs to be done to ensure federal departments and agencies are equipped to meet the increased volume of applications that will result from this expansion.

We are assessing the following success criteria:

• increased departmental knowledge and comfort level using the Public Service Resourcing System (PSRS) and flexibilities to full advantage;
• increased human resources support in managing large application volumes and collective appointment processes;
• capacity for bilingual administrative support and assessment boards;
• availability of PSC and commercial e-tests and non-proctored testing assessment tools;
• additional knowledge of the impact on unique occupational groups; and
• availability of cost forecasts.

What this means for Canadians

An expanded NAOS increases access to external appointment processes to persons who reflect a myriad of backgrounds, skills and professions needed to serve Canadians in their official language of choice. For Canadians this means that they can apply for jobs with the federal public service regardless of their place of residence.

As of April 2006, the use of NAOS increased the proportion of jobs open nationally for Canadians from 19% to 29%. This is expected to rise to 55% as a result of the expansion that took place in April 2007. Full implementation of NAOS by December 2008 will mean that 100% of all externally advertised jobs will be open to all Canadians regardless of their area of residence. With the application of NAOS to the FSWEP, student job opportunities will be national as well.

Public Service Commission support for federal departments and agencies

Federal departments and agencies whose appointments in the public service are made in accordance with the Public Service Employment Act must respect the PSC’s Policy on Area of Selection, which includes changes to NAOS.

The PSC has been proactive in assisting organizations in adopting the NAOS requirements. It has put in place a Web site and toll free telephone number to support organizations in NAOS implementation. To further facilitate implementation, the PSC made PSRS – a Web-based recruitment and screening tool – available to all its regional offices. PSRS has also been made available to departments and agencies, some of whom are able to manage their own advertisements and screening processes directly. The PSC is now also using the same technology for FWSEP jobs.

The PSC remains committed to ensuring a merit-based and non-partisan public service in which appointments are based on the values of fairness, transparency, access and representativeness.

For more information, please visit the PSC Web site at www.psc-cfp.gc.ca.

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