April Morrison

My name is April Morrison and I started with the Government of Canada in 2016 as a consultant. I was appointed a position in 2018, when financial cutbacks were occurring, and my contract could not be renewed. Knowing what I know now about appointments, nominations, acting and hiring- was it the best move for ESDC at the time? It was, as there was no one else with my skill set, but in that statement, we were not training anyone to take on my responsibilities. There was an opportunity to ensure indeterminate employees were being cross trained with the skills required in my opinion.

I have now been an indeterminate for 6 years and have learned a lot while working for ESDC and IRCC. I have been in acting positions for IT 4 (working weekends as acting manager with over 25 ppl, and while acting hired 3 acting IT 2 positions to assist IT 1s with gaining valuable experience), I am also active on hiring boards. Within PIPSC: I became a Steward in 2022 and this year became VP of Consultation for IRCC. I am trying to take on roles to be a voice and help IT employees feel secure and valued in their roles.

Currently there are a lot of changes occurring in the world of IT: Cloud, AI, new and advanced hardware and software. I believe we need a plan to ensure training to those who want it to become experts in the new technology.

Consultants have a place in the work force, but there needs to be a game plan, how do we ensure our employees are protected to get the right training and be within the responsibilities of their positions? Given my history I think I can be a strong voice and make the arguments needed to enhance the work life balance for our IT group; training, job responsibilities and future planning.

I was recently on a call with our Senior ADMs and voiced my concern with the ‘at level’ call outs. Most IT employees are looking for acting assignments at the next level and have the knowledge but need the experience to apply for pools. We are limiting the audience when doing these ‘at level’ opportunities. If we are looking to keep our employees engaged we need to start looking at inventory and acting assignments with knowledge and experience no matter what they level- if we have opportunities, do the call out but not limit it to at-level.

I do not have all the answers, but anyone who knows me, will tell you that I voice my opinion and concerns respectfully and ensure they are heard. I will do everything I can to support our President and his mandates, be open and honest with our obstacles and our wins.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or want to discuss my experiences before you vote. amorrison@pipsc.ca

Thank you in advance for your consideration and I hope, our vote!