Changes

Although mobility rates will vary throughout the life cycle of the public service, we are witnessing drivers both within and outside government that are changing our perspectives on mobility. Internal drivers may include changing government priorities as well as changes in governing political parties. An example of an external driver is the rise of the Gig Economy. As reported by ITWorldCanada "The gig economy is coming on with incredible speed in Canada. According to [http://content.randstad.ca/hubfs/workforce2025/Workforce-2025-Randstad-Part1.pdf Randstad Canada’s Workforce 2025 report], nontraditional workers (i.e., contractors, consultants, remote and/or freelance workers) currently make up 20 to 30 per cent of Canada’s workforce."

Although mobility rates will vary throughout the life cycle of the public service, we are witnessing drivers both within and outside government that are changing our perspectives on mobility. Internal drivers may include changing government priorities as well as changes in governing political parties. An example of an external driver is the rise of the Gig Economy. As reported by ITWorldCanada "The gig economy is coming on with incredible speed in Canada. According to [http://content.randstad.ca/hubfs/workforce2025/Workforce-2025-Randstad-Part1.pdf Randstad Canada’s Workforce 2025 report], nontraditional workers (i.e., contractors, consultants, remote and/or freelance workers) currently make up 20 to 30 per cent of Canada’s workforce."

The government of Canada has a long history of leveraging external resources to support innovation, surge capacity and specialized skills acquisition. Some believe that these tools may be overused, leading to terms like "[https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/shadow-public-service Shadow Public Service]" made up of contractors, consultants, casual workers and students. However, there has also been a history of a group of public servants that are been busy moving around government to work on exciting projects and this number seems to be growing. The 2007 the [https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=12552 Policy on Interchange Canada] lead to Interchange Canada "an exchange program between the core public administration and other organizations in private, public and not-for-profit sectors in Canada and internationally."   

The government of Canada has a long history of leveraging external resources to support innovation, surge capacity and specialized skills acquisition. Some believe that these tools may be overused, leading to terms like "[https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/shadow-public-service Shadow Public Service]" made up of contractors, consultants, casual workers and students. However, there has also been a history of a group of public servants that are been busy moving around government to work on exciting projects and this number seems to be growing. In 2007 the [https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=12552 Policy on Interchange Canada] lead to Interchange Canada "an exchange program between the core public administration and other organizations in private, public and not-for-profit sectors in Canada and internationally.". in 2012 the Policy on Interchange was updated, demonstrating the government of Canada's continued interest in supporting mobility initiatives between the public service and other sectors.  

A growing number of HR innovation programs such as Canada's Free Agents, PCO Fellowships, TBS Talent Cloud and GCEntrepreneurs have been helping to formalize the structure, acceptance and utility of Gig workers within the Government. As the Gig economy starts to mature within a Government of Canada context, we have an opportunity to re-think what a public service might looks like.

A growing number of HR innovation programs such as Canada's Free Agents, PCO Fellowships, TBS Talent Cloud and GCEntrepreneurs have been helping to formalize the structure, acceptance and utility of Gig workers within the Government. As the Gig economy starts to mature within a Government of Canada context, we have an opportunity to re-think what a public service might looks like.