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We work with partners and stakeholders to mobilize Pan-Canadian action to improve Canada’s public health workforce. This is a collaborative effort and includes public health human resource planning; training, recruitment and retention strategies; the development of competency profiles; and practice-based educational, training and professional development opportunities and incentives.
Training opportunities
The Division directly supports two professional development programs of the Office of Public Health Practice:
- Canadian Field Epidemiology Program
The CFEP aims to develop skills and competencies that are not easily taught in academic or workplace settings. Under the supervision of experienced epidemiologists, participants learn through workshops and on the job, mastering the competencies required of expert public health epidemiologists in the field. The Program also offers a series of workshops and seminars to other public health practitioners and medical specialists.
- Skills Enhancement for Public Health
The Skills Enhancement program offers online continuing education opportunities for front-line public health practitioners across Canada. Modules are designed to provide continuing education to practitioners, but may also be used in academic settings to complement curricula in epidemiology, health surveillance and other public health topics. The Program includes learning opportunities for public health professionals who act as facilitators of the online learning. Modules are offered by the Office of Public Health Practice as semestered sessions, but qualified facilitators may offer additional opportunities to participate in custom, local group discussions or activities to suit the needs of their learners.
Funding for learning
The Division will provide incentives for expanding learning opportunities in academic and practice-based settings, through the Public Health Scholarship and Fellowship Grant Program, including:
- Awards for graduate training at Canadian institutions
- Public health research chairs
- Incentives for the development of local capacity to support practice-based learning
(Planned launch in 2006)
Planning the Public Health workforce
The Division actively supports the implementation of the Pan-Canadian Framework for Public Health Human Resources Planning {link to the Framework documents}, which was approved by the Conference of Deputy Ministers of Health in October, 2005. We do this in collaboration with the Task Group on Public Health Human Resources of the Public Health Network .
Core Competencies for Public Health
Among the key activities identified in the Framework, is the development of competency profiles for Public Health. Core competencies are the skills that are common to all public health professionals and that are fundamental to delivering core public health services. In addition, each professional public health discipline contributes specific competencies that, in combination with the general core competencies, result in effective public health programming (OPHA definition).
Links to core competency work in Canada
In parallel with this work, many professional associations are providing input to the definition of discipline-specific competency profiles, which will inform the development of formative education, continuing education and human resource strategies at all levels of public health.
Links to discipline-specific competency work in Canada
Resource Centre
The Division maintains a web portal for discussions within the public health community as well as the key documents and links to other relevant material. Members of the public health community, academics, and other partners in the planning and development of public health human resources in Canada may contact the Office of Public Health Practice  to request access to the portal.
For more information, contact publichealthpractice@phac-aspc.gc.ca
or call toll free: 1-877-430-9995.
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