Strategic Human Resources Plan 2009-2012: STRATEGY 3 Focus on Training, Learning and Career Development

Where We Are

Investments in people help us maintain a skilled and professional workforce that is able to deliver programs and services at the highest standards. At present, training is performed throughout the organization with core national educational programs provided by the Canadian Coast Guard College.

Two organization-wide initiatives were undertaken in 2008-2009. CCG consulted with managers, employees and bargaining agents on its new Learning and Development Framework, vision and proposed action plan and the Performance Review System (PRS) was officially launched.

The draft Learning and Development Framework was circulated to managers and individuals across the Agency who are directly involved in the planning, management or delivery of training. It was then shared with bargaining agents. This preliminary review showed that learning is recognized as important and practices exist to identify opportunities. However, these activities are managed somewhat differently from region to region. The Learning and Development Framework will improve national consistency.

The goal of the PRS is to improve the performance of individuals and teams through frequent dialogue. Individual learning plans are part of the annual performance review, helping employees identify training requirements, developmental opportunities and career aspirations. In 2008-2009, through manager/employee discussions, approximately 87% of CCG employees prepared a learning plan. For seagoing personnel, a succession planning initiative integrates technical training with the PRS to reflect regulatory requirements for technical training. Gaps between existing training levels and those needed are being defined in our National Seagoing Personnel Training Plan. Once complete, these gaps will be addressed through a phased-in technical training program.

In 2007-2008, the Commissioner of Official Languages made several recommendations to the Prime Minister, some of which have direct implications for CCG: ensuring linguistic duality and the need to integrate it into public service renewal initiatives and the requirement for institutions to take concrete steps to create a work environment that is conducive to the use of both English and French by employees in designated regions. In addition, recommendations were made regarding the need for CCG to focus on official languages, especially in the Maritimes Region.

Significant effort is expended to ensure that employees meet the language requirements of their jobs. Canadian Coast Guard invests approximately $340,000 annually in language training, exclusive of employee salaries. CCG must ensure that it continues to be proactive in creating language training opportunities for individuals who aspire to become future CCG leaders, especially in regions. It would also be advantageous for employees who wish to consider career opportunities across the CCG to work on their language skills.

The national Leadership Development Pilot Program, launched in 2007, continued successfully in 2008. To date, the program has given candidates an opportunity to develop their skills, network and attend several senior management meetings.

Although CCG invests millions of dollars each year in training, capturing costs associated with this training (i.e. overtime, backfilling, etc.) is difficult. Limitations in our financial coding practices restrict us from getting a clear picture of exactly how we are spending our training dollars.

Appreciating the fact that we are still working on improving the reporting system’s accuracy, Table M quantifies CCG’s investment in employee training by region. In 2008-2009, training and development-related expenditures totalled approximately $4.2 million. On average, this represents $941 per employee, approximately $100 more per employee than in 2007-2008. These expenditures included seminars, conferences, tuition fees, memberships to professional designations and travel costs related to training. In addition, the operational costs to run the CCG College totalled $11.4 million. The investment in employee training combined with the cost to run the College equated to $15.7 million.

_{Note: Figures for regional training weeks have been included in these totals.}

Graph H represents a regional breakdown of training as a percentage of salary for 2008-2009.

Graph H
Training as a Percentage of Salary

_{Note: CCG officer-cadets are included in the College expenditures.}

What We Will Do

Learning and Development Budgets

A priority for the coming year is to establish clear and transparent learning and development budgets. These budgets will support employee development, career progression and skills development.

Canadian Coast Guard is also undertaking a review of training and development expenditures from the past five years. The objectives of this exercise are to identify trends, shortfalls and changing needs and to provide a better understanding of component costs (tuition, fees, disbursements, travel and materials) so that investment baselines and best practices can be established for implementation in future years.

Continuous Learning and Development

Early in 2009-2010, the Framework for continuous learning and development will be distributed throughout the Canadian Coast Guard.

The new National Labour Force Renewal Directorate, established in 2009-2010, will also further continuous learning and development by identifying and sharing best practices from among existing training/learning activities (e.g. Pacific Training Week) and by supporting employee learning plans. In addition, the National Human Resources Planning Sub-Committee will continue to identify learning and development policy issues and recommend action to Management Board, as needed.

Official Languages Capacity

In an effort to promote a more enabling and citizen-focused workforce, DFO put in place an accountability framework, created an action plan and introduced developmental language training guidelines in 2008-2009. As previously mentioned, CCG is placing additional focus on official languages and, in 2009-2010, will take steps to improve official languages capacity, with special attention on service delivery to the public, language of work, and learning and development.

In 2008-2009, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages (OCOL) conducted an informal review of the bilingual capacity in some areas of the CCG and of the importance we place on official languages and our commitment as an inclusive employer, providing opportunities to all Canadians. The provision of second language training at the CCG College will serve to eliminate language barriers for entry into the Officer Training Program, as identified in the DFO Employment Equity Management Action Plan 4.2.3 (6c).

Canadian Coast Guard College

The Canadian Coast Guard College offers programs in four streams: CCG Officer Training Program (CCGOTP), Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS), Marine Maintenance and Equipment Training (MMET), and Rescue, Safety and Environmental Response, including ongoing technical training for seagoing personnel. As an ongoing shortage of mariners in Canada is anticipated, delivery of the CCGOTP, one of the core College programs, will continue to be of utmost importance. To this end the annual officer-cadet intake will be increased from 48 to 64 beginning in September 2010, to maximize the College’s training capacity.

In 2009-2010, a transformation plan for the CCG College will be developed to better align its curriculum with organizational needs. The plan’s main objective will be the strategic repositioning of the College to respond to CCG’s evolving training needs and to ensure support of national interests. It will serve as a blueprint for the College and will include a multi-year framework and an organizational structure. The plan should focus on the provision of client-oriented, quality training delivered within available resources that are appropriately distributed. This structure will improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the institution and ensure that employees and resources are focused where they are needed most – in support of the delivery of high quality CCG training programs.

National Leadership Development Pilot Program

The national Leadership Development Pilot Program will continue to be offered in all five regions until February 2010. With continued success, consideration will be given to broadening the program to the CCG College and National Headquarters.

Marine Communications and Traffic Services

In 2009-2010, a Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS) National Refresher Course will be developed. An implementation strategy will be created and it will then be rolled out. Also scheduled for 2009-2010 is the development of a competency profile for operational working level MCTS Officers. This profile will ensure that future recruits meet program technical training requirements for the 21^st century.