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Securing Canada's place in a competitive world:
Certification of federal supply chain professionals plays a vital role
PMAC
The Government of Canada is the largest and most complex organization in Canada. The federal government manages the country's largest workforce—some 450,000 employees—and it purchases more goods and services than almost any other institution in Canada. It's critical, therefore, that public servants be equipped with the right skills to serve the government and contribute to the future success of the country.
The Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC) is urging Ottawa to commit sufficient funding for training and certification programs for all its employees, with a focus on procurement and supply chain management professionals.
PMAC brought this message to Ottawa as part of the federal government's consultations in advance of its spring 2007 budget. In addition to a written submission, Robert Dye, president of PMAC, appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance on Oct. 16.
Skilled workforce
The Finance Committee has taken as its theme for these consultations "Canada's place in a competitive world," and has asked participants to focus on public policy measures.
Dye spoke about the importance of a skilled workforce in securing Canada's position in a competitive global marketplace. "Training and certifying public servants can be effective tools in promoting and achieving sound, transparent, and accountable government that contributes to the social and economic development of the country," said Dye.
The Government of Canada spends more than $200 billion per year and is engaged in over 350 million transactions annually. Many of these transactions are managed by federal procurement officers. In order to derive the greatest value from its purchases and ensure the procurement process reflects the government’s objective of promoting accountability, Ottawa should pay special attention to training and certifying public servants involved in procurement and supply chain management.
PMAC is pleased the Federal Accountability Action Plan states the government will provide accreditation and training for procurement officers. The association recommends the government provide sufficient funds in its budget to meet the goal.
The federal government has already taken important steps to equip its procurement and supply chain management employees. The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) has created the new Professional Development and Certification Program to serve the approximately 10,000 civil servants comprising the government's procurement, materiel management and real property community.
This new TBS program, which PMAC supports, is aimed at enhancing the skills and professionalism of public servants who perform a broad range of procurement and materiel management functions across government, including contract management, warehousing, and transportation.
PMAC has begun discussions with government officials on how the new program might dovetail with the association’s Certified Professional Purchaser (C.P.P.) designation.
Equipping public servants with the skill sets necessary to help them succeed and, in turn, help Canadians succeed, is only one part of the equation. In its budget submission, PMAC said it's equally important that the values and ethics guiding public servants in the work they do be reinforced.
Values and ethics should be taught, reinforced and observed every day. This will help public servants perform their work in an appropriate environment and also serve to reinforce public faith in government.
Government relations
The participation of PMAC in the pre-budget consultations constitutes a key component of the association’s ongoing government relations program. The program has been designed to heighten awareness of the contributions that PMAC and its more than 40,000 members and program participants can make to strategic supply chain management in the public sector.
Federal government policies and programs have an enormous effect on our lives. PMAC believes there is a direct link between the quality of public service and the success of our country and the prosperity of individual Canadians in a highly competitive world. Accordingly, it's important the Government of Canada commits to investing in its employees to ensure public servants perform their jobs professionally and ethically.
Canada—and the supply chain management profession—will be much stronger because of it.
The above column, and the French translation on page 46, were submitted by the Purchasing Management Association of Canada. For more information on the association, visit www.pmac.ca
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