Sign Post Talent Management
Sign post is a set of online competency assessment and talent management resources and tools for internationally educated professionals (IEPs), in Canada, seeking careers in the financial services sector (accounting, banking, insurance, investment/securities, and wealth management). The tools and resources are also designed to help employers, immigrant service agencies, and learning service providers enhance the integration and professional development of internationally educated professional talent in the financial services sector. Sign Post is a collaborative project initiated by Ryerson University and The Conference Board of Canada, and funded by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, Ontario. Take a tour of Sign Post. How do the Sign Post competency assessment and talent management tools work? At the heart of these online competency assessment and talent management tools are the competency-based profiles. The profiles are behavioural indicators (typical baseline job descriptions, key activities, and tasks performed) in a variety of functions and work streams in the financial services sector. The indicators cover technical, professional, as well as interpersonal competencies. Unique features of the tool include self-paced learning and a process of reflection to ensure that the self-assessment process is honest, realistic, and firmly embedded in Canadian workplace culture and standards of practice. How were the tools developed? The basic design and web content of the tools has evolved over three years of the International Accounting and Finance Professionals (IAFP) pilot program at Ryerson University, funded by the Govenrment of Ontario. The IAFP program was developed to address the perceived and actual barriers faced by IEPs in the financial services sector in Canada. The valuable lessons learned formed the foundation of the Sign Post project. Ryerson University, in partnership with The Conference Board of Canada, launched the Sign Post initiative in 2010 with funding from the Ministry of citizenship and Immigration, Government of Ontario. The competency profiles that form the basis of the assessment tools were developed with the help of ENGAGE Human Resources Inc. These profiles were then reviewed in consultations with stakeholders across Canada (Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Vancouver). Feedback and comments from employers in the public and private sector, accounting and financial service professionals, HR staff, and IEPs were solicited through focus group sessions. Subject matter experts thoroughly reviewed the feedback and comments and updated the profiles. Why were the competency assessment and talent management tools developed? The Sign Post tools were primarily developed to improve the attraction, orientation, recruitment, selection, mentoring, integration, and professional development of IEPs, in Canada or planning to come to Canada, in the financial services sector. These tools are designed to address labour supply / demand challenges, critical shortages of talent, and to facilitate increased labour mobility and diversity. Who can benefit from the competency assessment and talent management tools? The tools can benefit IEPs, employers, learning providers, and immigrant service agencies in the process of orientation, assessment, recruitment, selection, professional development, mentoring, and retention processes. For More Information Diana S. MacKay
Director, Education, Health and Immigration Programs
The Conference Board of Canada
255 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M7
Phone: 613.526.3090 ext. 410
Email: mackay@conferenceboard.ca Salman Kureishy
Program Manager, IAFP
The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education
Ryerson University
350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 2K3
Phone: 416.979.5000 ext. 2628
Email: iafp@ryerson.ca
Ryerson University: Sign Post Talent Management Project
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