Joint Career Development Program
The Joint Career Development Program (JCDP) is a one-of-a-kind program which allocates more than $1 million worth of training every year to members covered by the CT Collective Agreement. This funding was secured in the collective agreement by ACFO-ACAF in 2016 and the program is co-managed by ACFO-ACAF and the Office of the Comptroller General. Originally launched in September 2017, the program has seen thousands of members from more than 60 departments receive training. In 2022-23, more than 3,000 members benefitted from the program.
JCDP 2023-24
With the ratification of the new CT Collective Agreement last year, the funding provided for the Joint Career Development Program (JCDP) was increased to $1.47 million. This unprecedented investment in community development and training was a hard-fought win for the collective bargaining team and – thanks to their hard work – we are excited to announce changes to the way ACFO-ACAF delivers professional development as well as new training offerings coming in 2023-24!
Apply for fall offerings now!
Applications will be accepted until June 11, 2023, for courses and offerings taking place in the fall term (between August and December).
Development Days
Spring Tune Up
Development Day | In-Person | Online
Vendor: ACFO-ACAF
How to participate: Direct registration
CPD hours: 5.5
Launched in 2011, the ACFO-ACAF Spring Tune Up is our flagship professional development event, drawing together 1,200 members in person and hundreds more online for a full day of inspiring stories and useful tactics from world-class speakers and subject matter experts.
Spring Tune Up 2023
For the first time since 2019, ACFO-ACAF’s Spring Tune Up is back as a hybrid event, welcoming our members to the Shaw Centre for our flagship professional development opportunity!
Spring Tune Up 2023: The Role of the Public Service in a Changing World will feature a mix of inspiring speakers all reflecting on the valuable role of government and public services as Canada takes on a bevy of challenges in the wake of the COVID pandemic and how the CT Community can position itself for success in this changing world.
Confirmed speakers include:
- Naheed Nenshi, former mayor of Calgary
- Emilie Nicolas, journalist and political commentator
- Dr. Christina J. Colclough, expert in AI and public services
- Dr. Raven Sinclair, author, filmmaker and scholar
In-person attendees will also get to take advantage of the ACFO-ACAF Career Fair, with nearly two dozen departments on site to talk about career advancement opportunities for the CT Community.
Registration is now open for in-person and virtual attendees! Register here!
A full agenda will be available soon!
Regional Tune Ups
Development Day | In-Person
Vendor: ACFO-ACAF
How to participate: Direct registration
CPD hours: 5
Building on the success of the ACFO-ACAF Tune Up brand, the Regional Tune Up event series was launched in 2017 to bring in-person development days to our members outside of the NCR. More details on each of this year’s events will be published in the coming weeks.
Regional Tune Ups 2023
- Atlantic Regional Tune Up – August 31, 2023 in Moncton, NB
- Ontario Regional Tune Up – September 7, 2023 in Toronto, ON
- Prairie Regional Tune Up – October 5, 2023 in Winnipeg, MB
- Pacific Regional Tune Up – October 11, 2023, in Vancouver, BC
- Quebec Regional Tune Up – November 9, 2023, in Montreal, QC
Interchange Program
Regional Interchange Program (NCR participants)
Experiential Learning | In-Person
Vendor: ACFO-ACAF
How to participate: Fall lottery
Number of spots: 12 per interchange
The highly-sought-after Interchange Programs are back for 2023-24!
The Regional Interchange Program takes a group of CTs who live and work in the National Capital Region out to a region for a week to help them better understand the realities and challenges of working in a regional office.
Members selected for this program will have all travel and accommodation expenses covered while they visit one of two regions:
- Atlantic Regional Interchange to Moncton (programming primarily in English)
- Monday, August 28 – Travel from NCR to Moncton
- Tuesday, August 29 – Visit a regional office for a site visit and job shadowing
- Wednesday, August 30 – Visit a regional office for a site visit and job shadowing
- Thursday, August 31 – Attend the Atlantic Regional Tune Up
- Friday, September 1 – Travel from Moncton to the NCR
- Quebec Regional Interchange to Montreal (programming primarily in French)
- Monday, November 6 – Travel from NCR to Montreal
- Tuesday, November 7 – Visit a regional office for a site visit and job shadowing
- Wednesday, November 8 – Visit a regional office for a site visit and job shadowing
- Thursday, November 9 – Attend the Quebec Regional Tune Up
- Friday, November 10 – Travel from Montreal to the NCR
Only members living and working in the National Capital Region are eligible for this program. Are you a member living and working in a region? Check out the NCR Interchange Program!
Note: Participants must be available for the entire week. Please confirm your availability with your manager prior to applying!
NCR Interchange Program (regional participants)
Experiential Learning | In-Person
Vendor: ACFO-ACAF
How to participate: Fall lottery
Number of spots: 12 per interchange
The highly-sought-after Interchange Programs are back for 2023-24!
The NCR Interchange Program takes a group of CTs who live and work outside of the National Capital Region to Ottawa-Gatineau for a week to help them better understand the realities and challenges of working in a national headquarters or central agency.
Members selected for this program will have all travel and accommodation expenses covered while they participate in one of the following Interchanges:
- NCR Interchange #1 (bilingual programming)
- Monday, September 25 – Travel from home region to NCR
- Tuesday, September 26 – Visit a central agency for a site visit and job shadowing
- Wednesday, September 27 – Visit an NCR HQ office for a site visit and job shadowing
- Thursday, September 28 – Visit an NCR HQ office for a site visit and job shadowing
- Friday, September 29 – Travel from NCR to your home region
- NCR Interchange #2 (bilingual programming)
- Monday, November 27 – Travel from home region to NCR
- Tuesday, November 28 – Visit a central agency for a site visit and job shadowing
- Wednesday, November 29 – Visit an NCR HQ office for a site visit and job shadowing
- Thursday, November 30 – Visit an NCR HQ office for a site visit and job shadowing
- Friday, December 1 – Travel from NCR to your home region
Only members living and working outside the National Capital Region are eligible for this program. Are you a member living and working in Ottawa-Gatineau? Check out the Regional Interchange Program!
Note: Participants must be available for the entire week. Please confirm your availability with your manager prior to applying!
Classroom-style courses (Fall 2023)
Business intelligence, data and analytics courses
Leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills courses
- Navigating Difficult Conversations (7 CPD hours)
- IFSD 360º (35 CPD hours)
- Relating and Responding to Mental Health (14 CPD hours)
- Authentic Leadership (14 CPD hours)
Introduction to Power BI
Classroom course | Online
Vendor: Daxel
How to participate: Fall lottery
Number of spots: 12 per cohort
CPD hours: 14
This two-day course by Daxel is designed for those with little to no experience with Microsoft Power BI. This intensive course will take participants from basic principles and concepts through best practices in using Power BI, concluding with a chance to apply the learned concepts in a truly hands-on and immersive way. Participants will:
- master the Microsoft Power BI Service environment;
- build an interactive report with Power BI Desktop application; and
- develop strategies to pursue Power BI learning.
Dates and languages
- September 13-14, 2023 – Online, English
- October 10-11, 2023 – Online, English
- December 4-5, 2023 – Online, French
Participants must be available for the entire course. Please confirm your availability with your manager prior to applying!
Storytelling With Data
Classroom course | In-Person, Online
Vendor: Data Action Labs
How to participate: Fall lottery
Number of spots: 16 per cohort
CPD hours: 14
This course, presented by Data Action Lab, is for participants who wish to become savvy consumers of data presentations and learn how to work with teams to communicate useful, evidence-based messages and ideas. The focus is on understanding how dashboards, reports and data visualizations convey descriptive, diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive data insights to decision-makers. Topics covered will include:
- effective visuals
- anatomy of dashboards and data visualizations
- decluttering
- identifying and holding the audience’s attention
- thinking like a designer with the Gestalt principles
- lessons in storytelling with data
- making data presentations accessible
The course will also include specific activities, including:
- identifying and gathering data presentation requirements
- storyboarding
- critiquing dashboards and data presentations
Dates and languages
- October 19-20, 2023 – In-person (Ottawa), English
- December 7-8, 2023 – Online, French
Participants must be available for the entire course. Please confirm your availability with your manager prior to applying!
Navigating Difficult Conversations
Classroom course | In-Person, Online
Vendor: Algonquin College
How to participate: Fall lottery
Number of spots: 20 per cohort
CPD hours: 7
Difficult conversations can be rich and productive learning opportunities, helping to resolve conflicts quickly, improve team relationships and build a culture of accountability. Held through Algonquin College’s Corporate Training Centre, participants will:
- learn how to have emotional or intense conversations with techniques on how to deliver bad news;
- learn how to establish rapport and how to empathize when needed;
- practice applying practical tools through individual and group exercises;
- practice confronting challenging issues with confidence; and
- learn to identify the right time and place for having a critical conversation.
Dates and languages
- October 4, 2023 – Online, English
- October 17, 2023 – Online, French
- October 24, 2023 – In-person, English
Participants must be available for the entire course. Please confirm your availability with your manager prior to applying!
IFSD 360º
Classroom course | In-Person
Vendor: Institute for Fiscal Studies and Democracy
How to participate: Fall lottery
Number of spots: 20
CPD hours: 35
Note: Due to the intensive nature and focus of the content, this course is offered exclusively to CT-FIN-3s, CT-FIN-4s, CT-EAV-5s, CT-EAV-6s, and CT-IAU-4s. This course will primarily be delivered in English. However, questions can be asked and will be answered in French.
IFSD 360° is a unique five-day course designed for leadership-bound public servants seeking to understand the big picture in how money and politics impact government, governance, and outcomes.
The course is broke down into five modules:
- Due-diligence and costing: Sharpen your analytic skills to improve your due-diligence and costing techniques with expert presenters and a case study based on a real file;
- Estimates: Leverage the experiences of current and former parliamentarians to unpack, explore and debate the need for reform of the estimates process and existing proposals;
- Forecasting: Learn to identify and unpack the information buried in the budget with veteran public servants, economic analysts and former political staff;
- The financial cycle: Explore the politics, fiscal and economic considerations of transition with those who have orchestrated, managed and experienced it; and
- Effective communications: Using multiple case studies, refine your skill in communicating complex information through briefing notes, interdepartmental presentations and oral briefings.
Dates and languages
- October 30 – November 3, 2023 – In-person (Ottawa)
Participants must be available for the entire week. Please confirm your availability with your manager prior to applying!
Relating and Responding to Mental Health
Classroom course | In-Person, Online
Vendor: Talk Tools Training
How to participate: Fall lottery
Number of spots: 16 per cohort
CPD hours: 14
This workshop has been designed by Talk Tools Training for anyone who has an interest in ensuring they are caring for their own mental health and that of their colleagues and loved ones. This session will allow participants a safe space to speak openly about mental health and their current challenges in the workplace and in life in general.
Participants will:
- learn how to identify basic signs within themselves and those around them that indicate poor or worsening mental health; and
- give themselves the skills needed to respond non-judgmentally and with empathy.
Dates and languages
- September 19-20, 2023 – In-person (Ottawa), English
- December 12-13, 2023 – Online, French
Participants must be available for the entire course. Please confirm your availability with your manager prior to applying!
Authentic Leadership
Classroom course | In-Person
Vendor: Trillium teams
How to participate: Fall lottery
Number of spots: 20 per cohort
CPD hours: 14
Trillium Teams’ Authentic Leadership Course is a transformative experience that instills leadership through a thoughtful blend of relevant topics, real world expertise, and feedback. The course provides professionals with proper training, a renewed passion for advancing their career and practical tools to get there. Participants will:
- discover their authentic leadership style to be a more effective communicator and engaging leader;
- discern and clarify the strengths of their communication style; and
- learn concrete tools and gain the confidence to put these into practice.
Dates and languages
- November 15-16, 2023 – In-person (Ottawa), English
Participants must be available for the entire course. Please confirm your availability with your manager prior to applying!
Apply for fall offerings now!
Previous years
You may view the full lists of training recipients below:
