ACFO-OCG Joint Career Development Program 2018-19: Recap and Training Recipients

For the second year of the Joint Career Development Program (JCDP) with the Office of the Comptroller General (OCG), more than 1,900 or 2 in 5 ACFO members received professional development training thanks to the $1M investment from Treasury Board as part of ACFO’s last collective agreement signed in April 2017. We are pleased to announce that all recipients of this year’s JCDP training were selected by random draw.

More information about all the JCDP offerings can be found below. We thank the 1,100 FIs who applied for this year’s JCDP and we encourage all members of the FI Community who did not receive or apply for training this year to apply for next year’s program opening in Spring 2019. For more information about the Joint Career Development Program and the types of training listed below, visit the JCDP section of our website.

Spring Tune Up

ACFO’s annual flagship professional development day, the Spring Tune Up, was held in Ottawa at the Shaw Centre on May 15, 2018. With more than 1,100 attendees, Spring Tune Up 2018 was the largest ever, where high profile speakers, including former host of The National Peter Mansbridge, offered inspiring and educational presentations that were useful to the career and personal development of FIs.

A full recap is available here. 2019’s Spring Tune Up will take place on June 4, 2019 at the Shaw Centre and feature Dragon’s Den’s Manjit Minhas. Registration will open in early 2019.

Regional Tune Ups

Nearly 400 FIs from across the country took part in the ACFO Regional Tune Up event series from August to November. These professional development events brought a regional flare to the inspiring and informative talks of the Spring Tune Up, with stops in Winnipeg, Halifax, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Speakers included:

• Joe Boughner – The Art of the Email
• Baltej Singh Dhillon – The Sikh Mountie
• ESDC Senior Management Panel
• Pierre Lainey – Power and Influence
• Office of the Comptroller General – Community Development and FI Competency Renewal
• Dany Richard – Why Office Politics Matter
• Joti Samra – How to Remain Resilient in Stressful Times
• Tova Sherman – Win, Win, Win: Achieving the Ultimate in Workplace Satisfaction
• Carolyn Stern – Leading with Emotional Intelligence

The events also featured a town-hall-style lunch with ACFO President Dany Richard and several networking breaks, giving participants the opportunity to meet other FIs from their region.

IFSD 360 Course

Led by Kevin Page, 30-year veteran of the federal financial community and Canada’s first Parliamentary Budget Officer, the five-day FI-exclusive IFSD 360 course is a full circle insider’s guide to the key facets of the financial cycle. Taught by The Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy (IFSD), this hands-on, interactive course took place in two 20-student cohorts in September and October with FIs from across the country participating. The course was broken down into five modules, including due-diligence and costing, estimates, forecasting, the financial cycle and effective communications.

Recipients

FI Interchange Program

The Interchange program gave 50 FIs the unique opportunity to travel across Canada for one week and enhance their understanding of the duties, challenges and departmental culture that their fellow FIs experience in another region. 25 FIs from the NCR visited FIs in both Toronto and Montreal, while 25 FIs from the regions came to Ottawa.

In addition to job shadowing rotations, participants heard from senior managers and leaders about their vision for the FI Community and networked with FIs from different regions and departments. Regional participants met with the OCG to learn more about TBS and financial management community development, while NCR participants got to take part in the Regional Tune Up.

“I enjoyed being able to meet with colleagues in the FI community from different departments and levels. This allowed me to share best practices and learn from them as well,” one participant from the program said.

FI Interchange Week 1 (Ottawa, September 24-28) Participants

CSC, TBS and GAC

FI Interchange Week 2 (Toronto, October 15-19) Participants

ESDC and PSPC

FI Interchange Week 3 (Montreal, November 5-9) Participants

ESDC, DEC and CSC

FI Interchange Week 4 (Ottawa, December 3-7) Participants

TBS, ESDC and PSPC

Authentic Leadership Course

The two-day Authentic Leadership Course was held in Ottawa by Trillium Teams, who helped 75 FIs from across the country over three cohorts discover their authentic leadership style to be a more effective communicator and engaging leader.

The course combined lecture-style learning, personal reflection time, one-on-one partnerships and group work with the other participants, and topics covered included:

• Emotional intelligence and how it applies to leadership;
• The DISC behavioural model to gain insight into more effective communication;
• Difficult conversations, an ongoing leadership challenge; and
• Narrative leadership at the heart of clear and memorable communication.

Recipients

CFE Prep Course

Offered by Densmore, the CFE Prep course was offered to 34 FIs writing the Common Final Examination in September 2018. This course provided approach strategies and skills development in preparation to write the three-day CFE. French learners participated in an online version of the prep course provided by LCG Coaching, CPA Inc.

Recipients

Language Training

100 FIs from across Canada were selected for 25 hours of in-person, one-on-one language training with a language tutor. Scheduling of each recipient’s training was flexible with full-time and part-time training available. FIs in the NCR received training from Ecole de langues La Cité, but FIs in the regions had the option to either arrange their own government-approved vendor or arrange distance training with Ecole de langues La Cité.

“I am glad that I was selected for language training funded by ACFO-OCG. It is a precious opportunity for learning and development,” said one FI.

Language training is ongoing until March 31, 2019, and the list of recipients below is subject to change. Should any spots become available, we will be in touch directly with the applicants next on the list with further instructions.

Recipients