If you have already looked at the section called "Our work in the atmospheric and hydrologic sciences", you will have seen that we have many different types of occupations covering a wide variety of activities. We come from a broad range of disciplines and degree levels. There are graduates from community colleges and technological institutes, and people with bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in such disciplines as meteorology, physics, atmospheric chemistry, hydrology, computer science, physical geography and engineering. We are all computer literate.
A strong science background is essential, but we are looking for more than that. Our employees must be service-oriented. They must be skilled at turning complex data into information and services that clients can use. They must be in constant contact with their clients to understand their needs, explain the limitations of the science and offer alternatives. Strong communication skills are a must, especially the ability to express complex ideas clearly and with simplicity.
Commercial or client services depends heavily on our traditional products and services, with a good measure of inventiveness, creativity and a strong client focus to make it all work. The people doing this need a good overview of the entire organization, so they know how it all fits together, and how to make it fit together in different ways. They also need entrepreneurial, marketing and management skills.
Staff must be open to new ideas and comfortable working with constantly changing technology. We are looking for multi-disciplinary individuals who are proficient in computer science, environmental science, hydrology, atmospheric chemistry and data assimilation. We need people who are flexible, and interested in using their skills in many different areas, from operations to research and from management to policy-making.
The federal government has begun a new initiative to rejuvenate and revitalize the Public Service, recognizing the importance of life-long learning. Our employee development activities are closely aligned with this initiative, called La Relève. They are aimed at ensuring that employees will have the broad skills necessary to carry out the work of the department as it evolves.
Like many other organizations, Environment Canada is defining the behavioural characteristics and qualities it is looking for in its employees. These core competencies, as they are called, will be used in the design of selection tools, for employee self-assessment, and for training and development. Clearly, few if any among us possess all of these qualities - this is the ideal we are striving towards. This is still very much a work in progress, but to see an example of the competency statements we are developing for meteorologists, click here.
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