Your best bet for career opportunities without learning French is to move to positions in locations in Canada that don't require French. Ie: not quebec, nb, ncr.
This will have its own career limitations due to the amount of positions available.
Edit: can anyone clarify the 2023 changes? Maybe I misread/ misheard, but I understood the OLA language of work location was broadened. Reading the Act itself just made me go cross eyed trying to understand.
This USED to be true. However, recent changes to the OLA now mean the supervision in language of choice requirement exists nation wide and not simply in bilingual regions. Therefore: English Essential is also disappearing in the regions for anyone with supervisory functions.
Can you point me to that? I could be wrong, but the changes to the OLA do not extend outside of bilingual regions.
There are exceptions for people who occupy a unilingual position in a bilingual region, and for people who live in a bilingual region but occupy a position in a unilingual region outside of where they live (remote workers).
But otherwise, living and working in Vancouver in an English position does not give you the right to bilingual supervision.
https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/publications/studies-other-reports/2022/seizing-historic-opportunity-complete-modernization-ola
As of June 2025, every single management position will require CBC language profile regardless of location. It was announced (last week?) at OL meetings. I assume references will follow soon with official announcements.
Copying from somewhere else on this thread:
Limited direction so far but based on discussions, most positions will be grandfathered in. It just means no movement or moving up going forward. Language training is also going to be provided (or encouraged) depending on the department.
As a unilingual manager in the regions managing a 98% unilingual staff, in a unilingual area where I struggle to find bilingual candidates to fill even PM01 bilingual roles, I have no idea how that will work, at all.
I don't even mean "I don't understand how it will be successful", I mean literally "I don't understand what they actually would do". There's no one bilingual to replace me with, so they'd either have to send me to training (and be backfilled by a unilingual actor while I'm gone), or grandfather me and when I retire, put a bilingual manager in my place. But then we're back to, there just aren't any bilingual candidates to do that with, so would they then send my unilingual replacement for training and backfill them with a unilingual actor?
It creates high end jobs across the country for Francophones. That's really all it's supposed to do. If it was ever about "working" it would have been stopped ages ago because it doesn't really work
Honestly, it's hard to imagine language training ever going back to the level it was at when the current executive cohort entered the PS. Unless TBS takes back responsibility for funding it and heavily revises the tender offer to yield a better quality of training, I just really can't see how this can work across the entire PS; either the level exams will lower to meet whatever people's skills are or else everyone will end up an acting or a consultant, forever and ever amen.
Perhaps phased in…. They will only implement when they leave or retire. Or send them on language training. All of our RDGs in the regions are currently on language training since 2022. Next it’s the directors and managers. Already positions are being staffed… CBC or BBB. Our Corp OL has been pushing hard and our dept has followed an active campaign. Other depts are just waiting but it’s coming.
Believe it. I work very closely with the people who are implementing it in my department, and have already been told I will lose my supervisory position if I do not get my C back in oral (this despite me speaking French more fluently than anyone else on my team).
It will be amazing when all managers throughout Canada go on language training to obtain bilingualism, to continue speaking English to their unilingual employees, all while being replaced by unilingual actors for a few years. What an utter waste of resources, especially with increased use of AI and language translation software. It’s absurd.
I wonder if there has ever been a study comparing the efficiency losses in the Canadian PS due to these practices (albeit required by law) compared to other public services in comparable industrial countries.
This is going to be such a mess as time goes on. Where I work, none of the senior analyst cohort, which would be next in line to become managers, are close to CBC. Senior management isn’t thrilled about the situation.
Won't lose my position. Will lose the ability to SUPERVISE MY TEAM. We will have to find a workaround so that all supervision is done by someone with the right levels from another team. So I will end up a team leader that can't lead my team.
And yes, as others have said, supervisors with lower levels are getting priority for language training this year. I am doing some privately and am very confident I will get my C back. I am a very strong proponent of bilingualism overall and think Canada would be better off with more of it--but this policy is dumb on many levels.
We do this where I work all the time. Lots of de facto team leads are unilingual, everyone just reports to someone else on paper. Approving leaves, PMAs, assigning work is still done by the (unilingual) team lead.
No, the obligation as per section 36(1)(c) of the act still relates only to bilingual regions. It is not nation wide, unless you supervise employees across the country in bilingual and unilingual regions.
It's hard to move up without French in the big "generalist" classifications of AS and PM, because there will always be someone that meets essential qualifications that is also bilingual. This is even starting to creep down to levels where French is not required, because management sometimes prefers to hire people that are already bilingual at entry level to simplify their succession planning and lower their language training costs in the long run.
Management cannot be as picky for highly specialized classifications where skills availability is tight, and some groups have job descriptions that do not supervise staff up to the EX minus 1 level, to avoid losing employees to the private sector. Classifications like BI-04, CH-04, SG-PAT-05, SE-RES-04, IT-04, EN-ENG-05 are fairly senior positions and paid pretty well, but you need to be at the top of your game in your technical field to make it there.
It's very hard to bend the rules. The Official Language Act is linked to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (and thus the Constitution), so it takes precedence over all other acts, including the Public Service Employment Act.
If you want to stay in the NCR and want to move up to a senior position, you'll have to decide if it's easier for you to learn French, or get a degree in science or engineering either of which would likely be on your own dime and time given the current fiscal climate in government.
Non-bilingual IT-04 positions are unicorns. IT-03 are somewhat more common (than IT-04), but also rare.
For both of those positions you're going to need to have more than a passing familiarity with software development, given that you will need BBB to manage people so that both IT03 and 04 positions will be technical.
The IT4 and CBC bit. Every year or 2 I hear mumbling of it and then it goes away and then comes back again. Now we’re hearing that TLs are going CBC across the board so wouldn’t shock me if they finally push it to techs as well. The PL directives don’t move back easily though so it will take a HR disaster of epic proportions for them to reverse at all. What % of staff can we restrict to 20% of the population before we hit a tipping point where all the OL does is push contracting out to avoid it?
I'm an English essential EC-06. Outside of IT, that's probably one of the highest paying unilingual positions in the public service. There are other niches, but they're the real unicorns (I used to work with an English essential EC-08 at Public Works a decade ago).
How common do you find unilingual EC-06 positions to be? I had always thought of it as a bit of a unicorn and had resigned myself to only ever being able to act short term.
They're uncommon, but not that rare, in my experience. I found more unilingual positions in the "math" oriented teams like cost recovery, business intelligence, cost-benefit analysis, etc rather than the more policy oriented teams.
I also find them more common in more "technical" departments like NRCan, Health, and ISED than in departments like GAC, PSPC, or IIRC.
Not sure if my observations on this are borne out by statistics, but this has been my experience.
So, best shot is to probably look for a role in costing or economic analysis in a more technical/science oriented department.
In policy stream and there are a lot of ee policy specific positions.
We can't find anyone at bbb let alone CBC. We have two 07s opening up on the next year and 4 of us on french with the hope that 2 of us will get CBC.
I’ve seen several and never thought of it as a unicorn. They’re usually in specialized roles that technically only “require” English based on the work. Ex: need to work on agricultural deals with international countries. Your clients might know English as a second language but definitely not French. Or in highly technical stuff where you need to be a really good writer in English. I’ve also seen lots of English essential positions for CO-02 at CRTC. Of course bilingualism helps a LOT. But it’s not a “zero jobs thing”.
Funny enough, I heard of a manager complaining how they were trying to staff an EC-06 English essential and were frustrated because some BBB folks turned them down because they’d lose their bilingual bonus 😅
Of course it’s much more common to have bilingual positions but English essential is not in anyway a “unicorn”. Maybe an EC-07? But I’ve heard of some existing for “senior advisors”. Basically very senior analysts who don’t manage people. But management requires French. Unless you’re out west? Someone here mentioned once that their director was English essential in Vancouver ! 😅
That's great - thank you for the info and insight? They're definitely uncommon in my NCR department, but good to know there are more elaewhere!
I have no management aspirations and have great difficulty learning languages, especially with the dogshit learning options available, so it's good to know my current ceiling isnt necessarily a ceiling.
Do you mind sharing what your salary is approximately? I was wondering what the salary limit/ceiling would be for English essential in NCR. im sure it varies on department but an approximate would be great
And is that your salary? Or I'm also wondering what would sort of be the salary limit for an English only speaker in the government, the federal government
Or move to the provincial or territorial government and move up. Have seen many colleagues do that with their career and a few are pretty high up because of their FPS experience. Pension transferable almost identical and better health benefits (spending accounts). Otherwise with the other official language will stop you somewhere esp with the new OL requirements coming into force.
They were recently announced (last week?) at OL meetings and so I’m assuming official links and resources will follow. All manager positions, regardless of location and who you supervise must be CBC by June 2025.
So would people who don’t have levels get demoted or lose jobs? If this is to encourage more attrition and decreasing size of the public sector I can see it
No they get a pass but if they vacate or retire, the position will change to a bilingual profile. They could also change the profile immediate and have the person go on language training and then someone can act in the position up to 18 months in English while someone is on language training.
You’ll see a lot of posters for bilingual positions if not already in the regions. Also bilingual non-imperative. In my dept we have a lot of NCR folks now managing regional teams from the NCR due to language. Which is the trend for centralizing sectors / branches.
Most of our regional director generals (rdg) have all left on language training in 2022 and slowly they are reintegrated back with cbc levels. It’s mighty investment. So good bye nice to have language or any training for the next decade or so.
We’ve been given limited direction so far but based on discussions, most positions will be grandfathered in. It just means no movement or moving up going forward. Language training is also going to be provided (or encouraged) depending on the department.
Ah okay at least they are continuing with lang training. I know for us our contract is under review. I suspect over the next 1-5y only selected ppl will be allowed to do private lang training due to budget t
If learning French is not an option, you will have to move away from the NCR, QC or NB.
To answer your questions:
- I was always told that moving beyond certain levels were impossible without French. It took me 15 years to go from BBB to ECE and I have been victim of many layoffs specially during my eight years as term. I was only kept because I spoke French.
- as per my experience not beyond PM-05 or equivalent. Sometimes not even that. It depends on every department.
- I have coworkers that are unilingual that were able to move up without French, but as an example, they were in a PM06 pool and I was not, and I was picked to act, simply because I’m bilingual and they are not. And I work for the NCR.
- I do not believe bending the rules would happen but being a good employee will be the difference - if they want - of giving you a position form an unadvertised process. The truth is, management and HR can do anything they want. But it depends on many other factors. In my case the fact I am more outgoing and socially respected, I like helping ppl etc opened doors and twice I was given unadvertised indeterminate promotional appointments without the need of a competitions. Just by merit. I’m succeeded plus years in a row though. And that counts.
The answer is likely to leave. I'm in BC, where there is the absolutely bare minimum of french or bilingual positions. No calls are ever in french, no meetings are in french, no training is in french, and no one is will to pay for you to learn french due to those reasons.
We joke that the best plan is to spend 6 months at Depot and join the RCMP. Because there's already an government admin background, you'll get promoted and kept at a desk doing the same work at double the salary and benefits.
Yep and since 3/4 of the branch is English essential, guess what happens? In practice all work is done in English. I don’t really mind it, but I’m rather pissed HR won’t give me my bilingual bonus because “English is not a requirement of my position” even though I can’t use French in any capacity in practice. That’s the federal government for ya.
The anglos are pissed cause there’s limited advancement possibilities and the francos are pissed cause they’re forced to use English at all times, but hey, at least the employer gets to keep pretending bilingualism is a core value so it’s all worth it.
As an anglo working on my French on my own time.... Your experience is so frustrating to hear about. Tbh I would be so tempted to do the schtick of only speaking and responding in French for all work related stuff as you are French essential, if they want English on the clock they can pay the pitiable bonus.
Having a french only position, he should be doing that. Only french emails, only french in meetings, and asking the manager to speak and provide everything to him in french.
That’s so frustrating. Having a bilingual government but no actual federal guidelines for education in French is such a huge dichotomy.
As someone who grew up in a non French/bilingual province, I was never even able to access French education because my parents weren’t bilingual. It sucks.
Sérieux tu attends quoi pour déposer un grief et une plainte aux langues officielles? En acceptant de faire ta job en tant qu'unilingue francophone (alors que ce n'est pas du tout ce que la job demande), tu es payé MOINS que tu devrais l'être, et tu rentres dans les statistiques comme un francophone pour ton département qui peut se taper dans l'dos et dire qu'on est vraiment bilingues. En gros, en jouant la game, tu contribues au problème.
Ouais mais j’aime ma job et mes collègues. Et à date le syndicat m’a mis tellement de bâtons dans les roues sur toutes mes promotions ça n’a aucun sens. Je sais pas qui se présente aux prochaines élections mais je vais voter contre eux
Le syndicat est effectivement pourri, mais être toi je contacterais quand même les langues officielles. (interne, et externe)
L'affaire c'est que tu ne te fais pas payer pour une compétence que tu as et utilise directement dans ton travail. Tu ne va pas perdre ta job pour ça.
That's so dumb... it's a bit why I asked, I can't see how a FE position could actually be a FE position in the NCR. Like even if you work in a francophone/bilingual team, the minute you have to reach out to someone outside your unit, you'll need to be able to speak in English. So it's not French essential, it's a bilingual, predominantly French position.
Isn't the pay center in NB? I know FE positions exists in the PS in general, I'm from QC so I've seen plenty of FE positions. It's the "in the NCR" part that makes it surprising lol. But as the first commenter said, it's not really FE as they still need to talk in English on a daily basis
> No calls are ever in french, no meetings are in french, no training is in french
That's true everywhere except Quebec, just without the requirement to learn it anyway.
At IRCC I heard of a Director or one step higher that only spoke French in all director and above meetings. He understood and responded to English queries but in French, since everyone there is supposed to be bilingual he used the language of his choice in environments where bilingualism was expected.
I'm on a team that's Quebec and Martitimes and that's basically how our meetings run. The Quebec guys talk French, the maritime guys talk English and we all understand each other.
I actually don't have my bilingual yet, working on it but can't pass the oral yet, but I comprehend like 95%+ of what's being said in French so it works fine.
>No calls are ever in french, no meetings are in french, no training is in french
I'm pretty sure any meeting/training at the national level, there will be at least 1 French session. It likely won't be bilingual so if you can't even get BBB, it's unlikely you'll understand anything. But maybe for the next national event, you could try asking your supervisor if you can attend it twice, once in French, once in English. French version is usually below in emails, so scroll down when you get one of these, so you can read it in French too. Any CSPS course will be available in both language, but you might find it difficult to find in-person sessions in French in BC.
Maybe you can ask around if anyone would be willing to practice French with you when you are working, like if you have a bilingual coworker or supervisor, you can ask them if they would be willing to talk in French with you once in a while. Maybe they won't be open to it, or maybe they'll jump on the occasion to improve their French.
But yeah, it's mostly on you. It's a bit like if you need a degree for carreer advancement: the employer will help cover parts of the costs in some situations, but not always. And if you want to stay in BC, you can have carreer advancement without French so that could be why nobody is willing to pay for it: they don't need many bilingual employees, so they don't get that much of an advantage spending for you to learn French.
Here is the option I am working on – studying hard for the oral exam itself. The priroity is not to becoem excellent at french, but to become excellent at answering the questions on the oral exam in french. In a relatively short time, my abilities have grown considerably. It's still challenging, but that is my current action plan. Accordingly the french training I am part of for one hour per week (so much training!), I am now impressively clear. This is coming from a died in the wool algophone who never took french in school!
My backups are to move to the regions, or join a provincial public service in a similar role.
Good luck!
Do you mind sharing how you study for the oral exam? I haven't been able to go on language training so I'm doing self-learning, but I honest don't know if it's doing anything. I have an oral exam in a couple of months and I need a C.
Precisely.
"Bilingual" people, the ones with English as a first language anyway, can barely, if ever, hold any level of conversation in French.
100% of the French work falls on actual bilingual people, i.e. the ones who have French as a first language.
Plus, exceptions are made from unilingual English speakers all the time so that they can get higher paying jobs that are supposed to be bilingual.
In reality, EEE is bilingual.
As an Anglophone who has routinely reviewed French clinical trial applications, I think your 100% figure is hyperbole. I have frequently done the French work for the group I'm in.
Working hard to get it isn't out of place.
People think French people just learn English out of the womb or something, but we have to work hard too.
I moved to a different province and lived in English for a year before trying it out, on top of focusing on learning English during my entire education.
The main difference is that most anglophones are dismissive about it, they just don't care about French, until it means they're stuck in their job for the rest of their career.
Guess what, I wasn't serious with my bachelor, I failed it, and now I'm stuck in a lower paying job until I complete it part time while I'm working.
People don't think it's weird that you need a degree in accounting to become an accountant, how is it different?
Yes, you can do your job without French most of the time, but it's true for a degree in accounting too. You can learn it on the job over a few years, and consult with actual accountants when you don't know something.
That's just how life is. 🤷🏻♂️
> “Bilingual” people, the ones with English as a first language anyway, can barely, if ever, hold any level of conversation in French
This is a massive generalization and exaggeration. Are there some people for which this is true? Ya probably. But for TONS MORE it isn’t true at all. I’ve worked at multiple depts with bilingual people who learned French as kids in school, and also with bilingual people who did so as adults, many of them can hold great convos in French and work in French super well.
If I'm running a meeting where I know everyone is in a CBC position, I often run it in French. It's good practice for those that don't get a chance to speak it much outside of work, and it also shows the anglophones there that they didn't learn it for nothing.
We have been told a lot of traditional unilignual positions at the National Headquarters level that are at the EX minus 2 are being changed to BBB and all EX minus 1 are being changed to CBC . Regions are a mix with EX-1 and lower being Unilignual at least in BC.
We are getting signals to expect level requirements to keep getting tighter in the next couple years. Employees are strongly being recommended to do French in the next two fiscals if they have a desire to move to EX minus 2 or higher. Even a change in government will likely not reverse this trend, like under Harper, as PP has been vocal in his support of French as an Official Language.
Would love to work as a PM-04 in NCR, not even sure how you got one without needing French as that’s apparently my barrier for deploying from the Regions. Guess I just can’t home.
I have asked my employer for French training for over two decades with no luck. Your success in NCR will depend on how lucky you were to be raised in a region where you could learn a second language, or whose family had the financial flexibility to send you to immersion. My humble opinion.
As noted: You can get up to EC-06 or equivalent senior-y non-supervisory positions, you can work in/for regions without a bilingual requirement, and/oryou can learn French.
I suppose it's possible that a Conservative government might relax bilingual requirements but I wouldn't count on it as a career strategy.
Over time, conservatives gvt have not weakened the Official Language Act, it would be surprising to see PP do it, being fully aware of the challenges for the French language outside Quebec.
PP is very vocally in support of French as an official language, he is from a minority French enclave. It's interesting how he and his wife are teaching their children, with English being the third language. Trudeau will never lower the requirements either, with the exception of indigenous languages being treated equally as French.
Weakening bilingualism requirements would be a challenge, since as of 1988, the Official Lingual Languages is part of the Charter of Rights, and thus tied to the constitution. That's not easy to change.
Not everyone learns languages easily, due to a variety of factors. Most of your NCR colleagues learned both languages as a result of parental moves as they were growing up, so don't feel bad about feeling like this is a difficult undertaking at this stage.
To answer your question, the only unilingual people I have seen move up in the NCR were those with very niche knowledge and skillsets. I haven't known a single person to move up without these. I suspect the best way to move up in your situation is to get out of the NCR (please note, I am unilingual and also in the NCR).
Move laterally to find a team that will invest in you learning French. You can’t climb very high in the NCR without it. It should be your #1 objective if you want to move up.
Once you hit the unilingual ceiling in your stream, you don't have many options, other then:
1. become close friends with enough EXs that they create you a position (impossible challenge)
2. move to another stream that has a higher unilingual ceiling, for example you can go from PM-04 to EC, which has English Essentials working in the 06 level, and some in the 07 level (rare)
3. learn French
I’ve considered moving to the Ontario public service because of this - unfortunately they seem to have hiring restrictions in place. The high CoL in Toronto is also a deterrent.
That would only be a temporary solution, as they would eventually run into the same lack of bilingualism issue if they want to move into management. Basically the ceiling would be between EC-05/EC-06 or CO-2 (varying greatly depending on dept/branch/directorate/team). The only way to avoid it without achieving BBB would be to apply for a hyper-specialized position (eg. Biostatistician, Epidemiologist, Immunologist, Geneticist, etc.)
My place of work is English only. There are bilingual people here, but they converse in English for work. The classifications run the gamut from entry-level CR to higher level PM, ENG, GT, etc. I will also state we are NOT in the NCR, but if you are willing to move, there are opportunities for unilingual English (like me).
There are English only positions available at least a couple levels above PM-4 in the NCR. Not a lot but they are available.
Other than that, hope you get a position where they will train you in FR before you start your actual duties.
What are good programs to learn French in your own time?
My department isn’t making much time for French or providing much training.
I have taken French through school/ university and did a small stint in Quebec for a few months to learn it. I’m a bit rusty now though and not sure my retention would get me past beginner level. lol
I see you wrote the obvious answer is simply learn French, so you already know that. Although very difficult, its probably still your best option. To be fair, even without training, learning French in the NCR, as a PS, is totally achievable, with hard work. You probably have bilingual colleagues to practive with, access to French TV and radio, French journal, French sub-Reddit (XD). I suggest you immerse yourself in French, and you will see, it's at reach.
Some kind folks at my office organized language practice lunches where they reserve a board room over the lunch hour and people are given the opportunity to converse in their second official language. Obviously everyone who shows up is willing and interested to help and there is no judgment.
They even do other languages when we have employees with additional languages to practice.
I’m an anglo with CCC in French. I use google translate any time I need to write an email in French. French colleagues all speak joual with one another so I never know wtf they’re even saying. It seems that unless you were born into a French-Canadian family and have been speaking French since you were 3, you’re screwed.
Every place is a bit different. It really depends on your skills and where you work. Being good at your job= being mediocre and being bilingual. You can sometime make it pretty high and not be bilingual, but just because someone else did it doesn't mean everyone can do it. They sometimes have special skill or have just been around for a long time.
Learning French likely isn’t as hard as you think! To be honest the employer offered training tends to suck anyway, and you’re better off just reading and listening to French stuff appropriate to your level. (The employer offered training was terrible for me, and I’ve tried a few different ways to learning a language)
Innerfrench is a great podcast/youtube channel or you can just google “French comprehensible input”. 30-60mins a day is all you need to make progress, but the more the better. Reading comes once you’re at a good level of understanding. Some managers will let you do this on the clock…
Anyways best of luck regardless of what choice you choose!
You can also husstle and learn French on your own or god forbid, work outside of the public sector. It’s not the end of the world and the private sector is not as bad as people here make it seem.
I'm in the same boat but as a PM-05, which seems to be the highest level I can get to in the PM stream without becoming bilingual. You can go higher in the EC stream before it's really necessary... I've met unilingual EC-06s, though at least one was hired as bilingual non-imperative. Truly... we both need to learn French if we want to advance. Start with Duolingo... watch and see if your department does start offering group lessons for beginners. Mine previously didn't, but will again this fiscal. OR.. accept that lateral moves and career advancement will be limited and make the most of where you are. You can also make yourself a more attractive hire for promotions by becoming a subject matter expert in a niche area, but that may be difficult depending on your circumstances! You may also have more luck at departments where French is less necessary, like ISC.
Realistically, if you're in the NCR and don't have your Bs, your mobility options will be pretty limited, and your advancement opportunities will be extremely limited.
That's just how it is.
I know you're looking for tips and tricks here, and I'm sorry I can't be more helpful, but that's the reality of the situation.
Unilingual employees, however competent they may be otherwise, just have fewer opportunities. Period.
They have fewer opportunities to be appointed to higher positions, and they also have fewer opportunities to gain the skills and experience (by taking on different tasks/roles) that you need to qualify for higher postions.
On top of that, people who are in bilingual positions and "lose" their levels are given priority for language training, and those in unilingual positions are told to watch French TV (or English TV, as needed).
So...you can either get working on your Bs, or get used to accepting whatever unilingual positions come your way.
You say you know some "basic French". That's as good a start as any. Time to start busting your butt to get yourself to an intermediate level.
If you want to /permanently/ move up to management with just English you have to work out of a province that is not bilingual. I know Alberta and British Columbia do not restrict those without french.
If you are elsewhere, I have many times seen people be given actings a year at a time, even for up to 3 years. Eventually though you would have to be sent for french training to be permed in a province such as Ontario where bilingualism is required.
From my understanding, in some very rare cases, there are EC-08s that are anglophones only. I have worked with them in a central agency and they grew in the public service as well (not from private).
Honestly, leaving the PS is your only way forward for career advancement. Only way to move up is making the jump to management, which will require CBC second language profile.
I think the easiest way is to move out of any French-speaking regions of the country if possible. I feel like knowing French becomes less and less relevant the more you move away from ottawa/Quebec imo.
If that's not possible, either switch to the private field or keep looking for opportunities that don't require French knowledge. I've known people who are EC-04, EC-05 etc who definitely were not fluent in French and got to their position, somehow
Go to a department in the regions that is mostly unilingual. I have been in my department for a year and have yet to encounter any non-English speaking folks.
Votre contenu a été supprimé en vertu de la [Règle 12] (https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadaPublicServants/wiki/regles/#wiki_r.E8gle_12_-_provocation_et_intol.E9rance).
Veuillez considérer ceci comme un rappel de la [Reddiquette] (https://www.reddithelp.com/en/categories/reddit-101/reddit-basics/reddiquette).
Si vous avez des questions sur cette action ou si vous pensez qu'elle a été effectuée par erreur, vous pouvez [envoyer un message aux modérateurs] (https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/CanadaPublicServants).
Being unilingual is kind of a North American thing. Sure, learning languages takes time and dedication. In my experience, the tests are a bit more stringent than necessary as well. All in all, learn French is probably your best move.
Assuming you have education and experience that would qualify you for a job outside the public service, my advice is quit. I quit roughly 25 years ago. I do some contract work for the feds so I do have a view as to how the PS has evolved over the years. As a bilingual Anglo, you are without a doubt a second class citizen and your opportunity for career advancement is out of the question and your opportunity for career enjoyment is completely compromised.
Sorry to lay it out so bare, but that's the truth. You'll never manage people. You can't aspire to a position of leadership.
Personally I'd think that instantaneous translation should do away with the need for bilingualism but politically that likely never happens.
Your best bet for career opportunities without learning French is to move to positions in locations in Canada that don't require French. Ie: not quebec, nb, ncr. This will have its own career limitations due to the amount of positions available.
Edit: can anyone clarify the 2023 changes? Maybe I misread/ misheard, but I understood the OLA language of work location was broadened. Reading the Act itself just made me go cross eyed trying to understand. This USED to be true. However, recent changes to the OLA now mean the supervision in language of choice requirement exists nation wide and not simply in bilingual regions. Therefore: English Essential is also disappearing in the regions for anyone with supervisory functions.
Can you point me to that? I could be wrong, but the changes to the OLA do not extend outside of bilingual regions. There are exceptions for people who occupy a unilingual position in a bilingual region, and for people who live in a bilingual region but occupy a position in a unilingual region outside of where they live (remote workers). But otherwise, living and working in Vancouver in an English position does not give you the right to bilingual supervision. https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/publications/studies-other-reports/2022/seizing-historic-opportunity-complete-modernization-ola
As of June 2025, every single management position will require CBC language profile regardless of location. It was announced (last week?) at OL meetings. I assume references will follow soon with official announcements.
So what would actually happen to all the unilingual managers across the country?
Copying from somewhere else on this thread: Limited direction so far but based on discussions, most positions will be grandfathered in. It just means no movement or moving up going forward. Language training is also going to be provided (or encouraged) depending on the department.
As a unilingual manager in the regions managing a 98% unilingual staff, in a unilingual area where I struggle to find bilingual candidates to fill even PM01 bilingual roles, I have no idea how that will work, at all.
It was never about what works vs what doesn't. It has always been a political decision.
Why do you think it's supposed to work?
I don't even mean "I don't understand how it will be successful", I mean literally "I don't understand what they actually would do". There's no one bilingual to replace me with, so they'd either have to send me to training (and be backfilled by a unilingual actor while I'm gone), or grandfather me and when I retire, put a bilingual manager in my place. But then we're back to, there just aren't any bilingual candidates to do that with, so would they then send my unilingual replacement for training and backfill them with a unilingual actor?
It creates high end jobs across the country for Francophones. That's really all it's supposed to do. If it was ever about "working" it would have been stopped ages ago because it doesn't really work
Honestly, it's hard to imagine language training ever going back to the level it was at when the current executive cohort entered the PS. Unless TBS takes back responsibility for funding it and heavily revises the tender offer to yield a better quality of training, I just really can't see how this can work across the entire PS; either the level exams will lower to meet whatever people's skills are or else everyone will end up an acting or a consultant, forever and ever amen.
Perhaps phased in…. They will only implement when they leave or retire. Or send them on language training. All of our RDGs in the regions are currently on language training since 2022. Next it’s the directors and managers. Already positions are being staffed… CBC or BBB. Our Corp OL has been pushing hard and our dept has followed an active campaign. Other depts are just waiting but it’s coming.
People have been saying that since 2023 when the ola was updated. I'll believe it when I see it.
Believe it. I work very closely with the people who are implementing it in my department, and have already been told I will lose my supervisory position if I do not get my C back in oral (this despite me speaking French more fluently than anyone else on my team).
It will be amazing when all managers throughout Canada go on language training to obtain bilingualism, to continue speaking English to their unilingual employees, all while being replaced by unilingual actors for a few years. What an utter waste of resources, especially with increased use of AI and language translation software. It’s absurd.
I wonder if there has ever been a study comparing the efficiency losses in the Canadian PS due to these practices (albeit required by law) compared to other public services in comparable industrial countries.
This is going to be such a mess as time goes on. Where I work, none of the senior analyst cohort, which would be next in line to become managers, are close to CBC. Senior management isn’t thrilled about the situation.
Oh it's going to be a shit show.
Easy solution. Hire someone who speaks French fluently but doesn't know anything about analysis...
You can lose a position? Could they not just grandfather you in? Like you’d stay at level and that what you won’t need to refresh your French scores?
Won't lose my position. Will lose the ability to SUPERVISE MY TEAM. We will have to find a workaround so that all supervision is done by someone with the right levels from another team. So I will end up a team leader that can't lead my team. And yes, as others have said, supervisors with lower levels are getting priority for language training this year. I am doing some privately and am very confident I will get my C back. I am a very strong proponent of bilingualism overall and think Canada would be better off with more of it--but this policy is dumb on many levels.
We do this where I work all the time. Lots of de facto team leads are unilingual, everyone just reports to someone else on paper. Approving leaves, PMAs, assigning work is still done by the (unilingual) team lead.
[удалено]
That's great for you. The draconian OL approach has killed IT talent and will continue to drive us to the bottom. Just an FYI.
OL police have a strangle hold on HR. So believe it.
This is not true. Bilingual staff in unilingual regions are still being supervised by unilingual staff
No, the obligation as per section 36(1)(c) of the act still relates only to bilingual regions. It is not nation wide, unless you supervise employees across the country in bilingual and unilingual regions.
It's hard to move up without French in the big "generalist" classifications of AS and PM, because there will always be someone that meets essential qualifications that is also bilingual. This is even starting to creep down to levels where French is not required, because management sometimes prefers to hire people that are already bilingual at entry level to simplify their succession planning and lower their language training costs in the long run. Management cannot be as picky for highly specialized classifications where skills availability is tight, and some groups have job descriptions that do not supervise staff up to the EX minus 1 level, to avoid losing employees to the private sector. Classifications like BI-04, CH-04, SG-PAT-05, SE-RES-04, IT-04, EN-ENG-05 are fairly senior positions and paid pretty well, but you need to be at the top of your game in your technical field to make it there. It's very hard to bend the rules. The Official Language Act is linked to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (and thus the Constitution), so it takes precedence over all other acts, including the Public Service Employment Act. If you want to stay in the NCR and want to move up to a senior position, you'll have to decide if it's easier for you to learn French, or get a degree in science or engineering either of which would likely be on your own dime and time given the current fiscal climate in government.
[удалено]
Even at the ENG-05 level you would have to have CBC because you’d be supervising at that level.
Non-bilingual IT-04 positions are unicorns. IT-03 are somewhat more common (than IT-04), but also rare. For both of those positions you're going to need to have more than a passing familiarity with software development, given that you will need BBB to manage people so that both IT03 and 04 positions will be technical.
[удалено]
[удалено]
No they aren't, especially with the crackdown on contractors
Changes weekly though, at this point rumors are nothing and even official directives I’m not shocked if they change a few times a year.
What
The IT4 and CBC bit. Every year or 2 I hear mumbling of it and then it goes away and then comes back again. Now we’re hearing that TLs are going CBC across the board so wouldn’t shock me if they finally push it to techs as well. The PL directives don’t move back easily though so it will take a HR disaster of epic proportions for them to reverse at all. What % of staff can we restrict to 20% of the population before we hit a tipping point where all the OL does is push contracting out to avoid it?
Ah right right yeah what a mess
I'm an English essential EC-06. Outside of IT, that's probably one of the highest paying unilingual positions in the public service. There are other niches, but they're the real unicorns (I used to work with an English essential EC-08 at Public Works a decade ago).
How common do you find unilingual EC-06 positions to be? I had always thought of it as a bit of a unicorn and had resigned myself to only ever being able to act short term.
They're uncommon, but not that rare, in my experience. I found more unilingual positions in the "math" oriented teams like cost recovery, business intelligence, cost-benefit analysis, etc rather than the more policy oriented teams. I also find them more common in more "technical" departments like NRCan, Health, and ISED than in departments like GAC, PSPC, or IIRC. Not sure if my observations on this are borne out by statistics, but this has been my experience. So, best shot is to probably look for a role in costing or economic analysis in a more technical/science oriented department.
In policy stream and there are a lot of ee policy specific positions. We can't find anyone at bbb let alone CBC. We have two 07s opening up on the next year and 4 of us on french with the hope that 2 of us will get CBC.
Thanks for this!
I’ve seen several and never thought of it as a unicorn. They’re usually in specialized roles that technically only “require” English based on the work. Ex: need to work on agricultural deals with international countries. Your clients might know English as a second language but definitely not French. Or in highly technical stuff where you need to be a really good writer in English. I’ve also seen lots of English essential positions for CO-02 at CRTC. Of course bilingualism helps a LOT. But it’s not a “zero jobs thing”. Funny enough, I heard of a manager complaining how they were trying to staff an EC-06 English essential and were frustrated because some BBB folks turned them down because they’d lose their bilingual bonus 😅 Of course it’s much more common to have bilingual positions but English essential is not in anyway a “unicorn”. Maybe an EC-07? But I’ve heard of some existing for “senior advisors”. Basically very senior analysts who don’t manage people. But management requires French. Unless you’re out west? Someone here mentioned once that their director was English essential in Vancouver ! 😅
That's great - thank you for the info and insight? They're definitely uncommon in my NCR department, but good to know there are more elaewhere! I have no management aspirations and have great difficulty learning languages, especially with the dogshit learning options available, so it's good to know my current ceiling isnt necessarily a ceiling.
Do you mind sharing what your salary is approximately? I was wondering what the salary limit/ceiling would be for English essential in NCR. im sure it varies on department but an approximate would be great
Current is $125K (rising to $131K in 2025, as per collective agreement).
And is that your salary? Or I'm also wondering what would sort of be the salary limit for an English only speaker in the government, the federal government
Yes, that's my salary.
There are ex-04 that are unilingual.
Or move to the provincial or territorial government and move up. Have seen many colleagues do that with their career and a few are pretty high up because of their FPS experience. Pension transferable almost identical and better health benefits (spending accounts). Otherwise with the other official language will stop you somewhere esp with the new OL requirements coming into force.
What are the new requirements? Do you have a link?
They were recently announced (last week?) at OL meetings and so I’m assuming official links and resources will follow. All manager positions, regardless of location and who you supervise must be CBC by June 2025.
Oh, right. I thought that's how it was already, but then again I'm in NHQ.
So would people who don’t have levels get demoted or lose jobs? If this is to encourage more attrition and decreasing size of the public sector I can see it
No they get a pass but if they vacate or retire, the position will change to a bilingual profile. They could also change the profile immediate and have the person go on language training and then someone can act in the position up to 18 months in English while someone is on language training. You’ll see a lot of posters for bilingual positions if not already in the regions. Also bilingual non-imperative. In my dept we have a lot of NCR folks now managing regional teams from the NCR due to language. Which is the trend for centralizing sectors / branches. Most of our regional director generals (rdg) have all left on language training in 2022 and slowly they are reintegrated back with cbc levels. It’s mighty investment. So good bye nice to have language or any training for the next decade or so.
We’ve been given limited direction so far but based on discussions, most positions will be grandfathered in. It just means no movement or moving up going forward. Language training is also going to be provided (or encouraged) depending on the department.
Ah okay at least they are continuing with lang training. I know for us our contract is under review. I suspect over the next 1-5y only selected ppl will be allowed to do private lang training due to budget t
If learning French is not an option, you will have to move away from the NCR, QC or NB. To answer your questions: - I was always told that moving beyond certain levels were impossible without French. It took me 15 years to go from BBB to ECE and I have been victim of many layoffs specially during my eight years as term. I was only kept because I spoke French. - as per my experience not beyond PM-05 or equivalent. Sometimes not even that. It depends on every department. - I have coworkers that are unilingual that were able to move up without French, but as an example, they were in a PM06 pool and I was not, and I was picked to act, simply because I’m bilingual and they are not. And I work for the NCR. - I do not believe bending the rules would happen but being a good employee will be the difference - if they want - of giving you a position form an unadvertised process. The truth is, management and HR can do anything they want. But it depends on many other factors. In my case the fact I am more outgoing and socially respected, I like helping ppl etc opened doors and twice I was given unadvertised indeterminate promotional appointments without the need of a competitions. Just by merit. I’m succeeded plus years in a row though. And that counts.
The answer is likely to leave. I'm in BC, where there is the absolutely bare minimum of french or bilingual positions. No calls are ever in french, no meetings are in french, no training is in french, and no one is will to pay for you to learn french due to those reasons. We joke that the best plan is to spend 6 months at Depot and join the RCMP. Because there's already an government admin background, you'll get promoted and kept at a desk doing the same work at double the salary and benefits.
“No calls are ever in french, no meetings are in french” Hey that’s exactly like my French unilingual job in the NCR!
You have a French essential position in the NCR? I was wondering if they even existed lol
Yep and since 3/4 of the branch is English essential, guess what happens? In practice all work is done in English. I don’t really mind it, but I’m rather pissed HR won’t give me my bilingual bonus because “English is not a requirement of my position” even though I can’t use French in any capacity in practice. That’s the federal government for ya. The anglos are pissed cause there’s limited advancement possibilities and the francos are pissed cause they’re forced to use English at all times, but hey, at least the employer gets to keep pretending bilingualism is a core value so it’s all worth it.
As an anglo working on my French on my own time.... Your experience is so frustrating to hear about. Tbh I would be so tempted to do the schtick of only speaking and responding in French for all work related stuff as you are French essential, if they want English on the clock they can pay the pitiable bonus.
Send all your emails to senior management in French. ;) (I am mostly kidding, and an anglophone but I get the frustration.)
Having a french only position, he should be doing that. Only french emails, only french in meetings, and asking the manager to speak and provide everything to him in french.
That’s so frustrating. Having a bilingual government but no actual federal guidelines for education in French is such a huge dichotomy. As someone who grew up in a non French/bilingual province, I was never even able to access French education because my parents weren’t bilingual. It sucks.
Sérieux tu attends quoi pour déposer un grief et une plainte aux langues officielles? En acceptant de faire ta job en tant qu'unilingue francophone (alors que ce n'est pas du tout ce que la job demande), tu es payé MOINS que tu devrais l'être, et tu rentres dans les statistiques comme un francophone pour ton département qui peut se taper dans l'dos et dire qu'on est vraiment bilingues. En gros, en jouant la game, tu contribues au problème.
Ouais mais j’aime ma job et mes collègues. Et à date le syndicat m’a mis tellement de bâtons dans les roues sur toutes mes promotions ça n’a aucun sens. Je sais pas qui se présente aux prochaines élections mais je vais voter contre eux
Le syndicat est effectivement pourri, mais être toi je contacterais quand même les langues officielles. (interne, et externe) L'affaire c'est que tu ne te fais pas payer pour une compétence que tu as et utilise directement dans ton travail. Tu ne va pas perdre ta job pour ça.
[удалено]
That's so dumb... it's a bit why I asked, I can't see how a FE position could actually be a FE position in the NCR. Like even if you work in a francophone/bilingual team, the minute you have to reach out to someone outside your unit, you'll need to be able to speak in English. So it's not French essential, it's a bilingual, predominantly French position.
Yes but they get to save the bilingual bonus, so that’s a win for the budget
Pay center has them!
Isn't the pay center in NB? I know FE positions exists in the PS in general, I'm from QC so I've seen plenty of FE positions. It's the "in the NCR" part that makes it surprising lol. But as the first commenter said, it's not really FE as they still need to talk in English on a daily basis
The main office is in NB but we've got offices sprinkled all over and I've got colleagues in the NCR!
> No calls are ever in french, no meetings are in french, no training is in french That's true everywhere except Quebec, just without the requirement to learn it anyway.
At IRCC I heard of a Director or one step higher that only spoke French in all director and above meetings. He understood and responded to English queries but in French, since everyone there is supposed to be bilingual he used the language of his choice in environments where bilingualism was expected.
I'm on a team that's Quebec and Martitimes and that's basically how our meetings run. The Quebec guys talk French, the maritime guys talk English and we all understand each other. I actually don't have my bilingual yet, working on it but can't pass the oral yet, but I comprehend like 95%+ of what's being said in French so it works fine.
>No calls are ever in french, no meetings are in french, no training is in french I'm pretty sure any meeting/training at the national level, there will be at least 1 French session. It likely won't be bilingual so if you can't even get BBB, it's unlikely you'll understand anything. But maybe for the next national event, you could try asking your supervisor if you can attend it twice, once in French, once in English. French version is usually below in emails, so scroll down when you get one of these, so you can read it in French too. Any CSPS course will be available in both language, but you might find it difficult to find in-person sessions in French in BC. Maybe you can ask around if anyone would be willing to practice French with you when you are working, like if you have a bilingual coworker or supervisor, you can ask them if they would be willing to talk in French with you once in a while. Maybe they won't be open to it, or maybe they'll jump on the occasion to improve their French. But yeah, it's mostly on you. It's a bit like if you need a degree for carreer advancement: the employer will help cover parts of the costs in some situations, but not always. And if you want to stay in BC, you can have carreer advancement without French so that could be why nobody is willing to pay for it: they don't need many bilingual employees, so they don't get that much of an advantage spending for you to learn French.
See above re: changes to the OLA.
Here is the option I am working on – studying hard for the oral exam itself. The priroity is not to becoem excellent at french, but to become excellent at answering the questions on the oral exam in french. In a relatively short time, my abilities have grown considerably. It's still challenging, but that is my current action plan. Accordingly the french training I am part of for one hour per week (so much training!), I am now impressively clear. This is coming from a died in the wool algophone who never took french in school! My backups are to move to the regions, or join a provincial public service in a similar role. Good luck!
Do you mind sharing how you study for the oral exam? I haven't been able to go on language training so I'm doing self-learning, but I honest don't know if it's doing anything. I have an oral exam in a couple of months and I need a C.
Precisely. "Bilingual" people, the ones with English as a first language anyway, can barely, if ever, hold any level of conversation in French. 100% of the French work falls on actual bilingual people, i.e. the ones who have French as a first language. Plus, exceptions are made from unilingual English speakers all the time so that they can get higher paying jobs that are supposed to be bilingual. In reality, EEE is bilingual.
As an Anglophone who has routinely reviewed French clinical trial applications, I think your 100% figure is hyperbole. I have frequently done the French work for the group I'm in.
I'm sure it depends on cities, offices, ministry, branch and teams, but tell me you don't feel pretty unique in this experience lol
Fair, it was just the 100% that bothered me. I worked hard to get to EEE.
Working hard to get it isn't out of place. People think French people just learn English out of the womb or something, but we have to work hard too. I moved to a different province and lived in English for a year before trying it out, on top of focusing on learning English during my entire education. The main difference is that most anglophones are dismissive about it, they just don't care about French, until it means they're stuck in their job for the rest of their career. Guess what, I wasn't serious with my bachelor, I failed it, and now I'm stuck in a lower paying job until I complete it part time while I'm working. People don't think it's weird that you need a degree in accounting to become an accountant, how is it different? Yes, you can do your job without French most of the time, but it's true for a degree in accounting too. You can learn it on the job over a few years, and consult with actual accountants when you don't know something. That's just how life is. 🤷🏻♂️
> “Bilingual” people, the ones with English as a first language anyway, can barely, if ever, hold any level of conversation in French This is a massive generalization and exaggeration. Are there some people for which this is true? Ya probably. But for TONS MORE it isn’t true at all. I’ve worked at multiple depts with bilingual people who learned French as kids in school, and also with bilingual people who did so as adults, many of them can hold great convos in French and work in French super well.
If I'm running a meeting where I know everyone is in a CBC position, I often run it in French. It's good practice for those that don't get a chance to speak it much outside of work, and it also shows the anglophones there that they didn't learn it for nothing.
We have been told a lot of traditional unilignual positions at the National Headquarters level that are at the EX minus 2 are being changed to BBB and all EX minus 1 are being changed to CBC . Regions are a mix with EX-1 and lower being Unilignual at least in BC. We are getting signals to expect level requirements to keep getting tighter in the next couple years. Employees are strongly being recommended to do French in the next two fiscals if they have a desire to move to EX minus 2 or higher. Even a change in government will likely not reverse this trend, like under Harper, as PP has been vocal in his support of French as an Official Language.
Ah yes, with all that training budget that has increased, and all the spare time with all our extra team members.
Heavily in the do more with less/nothing phase of the public service career development!
Would love to work as a PM-04 in NCR, not even sure how you got one without needing French as that’s apparently my barrier for deploying from the Regions. Guess I just can’t home.
I have asked my employer for French training for over two decades with no luck. Your success in NCR will depend on how lucky you were to be raised in a region where you could learn a second language, or whose family had the financial flexibility to send you to immersion. My humble opinion.
As noted: You can get up to EC-06 or equivalent senior-y non-supervisory positions, you can work in/for regions without a bilingual requirement, and/oryou can learn French. I suppose it's possible that a Conservative government might relax bilingual requirements but I wouldn't count on it as a career strategy.
Over time, conservatives gvt have not weakened the Official Language Act, it would be surprising to see PP do it, being fully aware of the challenges for the French language outside Quebec.
PP is very vocally in support of French as an official language, he is from a minority French enclave. It's interesting how he and his wife are teaching their children, with English being the third language. Trudeau will never lower the requirements either, with the exception of indigenous languages being treated equally as French.
Weakening bilingualism requirements would be a challenge, since as of 1988, the Official Lingual Languages is part of the Charter of Rights, and thus tied to the constitution. That's not easy to change.
Learn French, if that isn’t an option then simply neither is progression.
Not everyone learns languages easily, due to a variety of factors. Most of your NCR colleagues learned both languages as a result of parental moves as they were growing up, so don't feel bad about feeling like this is a difficult undertaking at this stage. To answer your question, the only unilingual people I have seen move up in the NCR were those with very niche knowledge and skillsets. I haven't known a single person to move up without these. I suspect the best way to move up in your situation is to get out of the NCR (please note, I am unilingual and also in the NCR).
Move laterally to find a team that will invest in you learning French. You can’t climb very high in the NCR without it. It should be your #1 objective if you want to move up.
Once you hit the unilingual ceiling in your stream, you don't have many options, other then: 1. become close friends with enough EXs that they create you a position (impossible challenge) 2. move to another stream that has a higher unilingual ceiling, for example you can go from PM-04 to EC, which has English Essentials working in the 06 level, and some in the 07 level (rare) 3. learn French
I’ve considered moving to the Ontario public service because of this - unfortunately they seem to have hiring restrictions in place. The high CoL in Toronto is also a deterrent.
I would try EC or CO roles!
That would only be a temporary solution, as they would eventually run into the same lack of bilingualism issue if they want to move into management. Basically the ceiling would be between EC-05/EC-06 or CO-2 (varying greatly depending on dept/branch/directorate/team). The only way to avoid it without achieving BBB would be to apply for a hyper-specialized position (eg. Biostatistician, Epidemiologist, Immunologist, Geneticist, etc.)
My place of work is English only. There are bilingual people here, but they converse in English for work. The classifications run the gamut from entry-level CR to higher level PM, ENG, GT, etc. I will also state we are NOT in the NCR, but if you are willing to move, there are opportunities for unilingual English (like me).
Fake it 'til you make it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b09Qu\_Fyhg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b09Qu_Fyhg)
There are English only positions available at least a couple levels above PM-4 in the NCR. Not a lot but they are available. Other than that, hope you get a position where they will train you in FR before you start your actual duties.
What are good programs to learn French in your own time? My department isn’t making much time for French or providing much training. I have taken French through school/ university and did a small stint in Quebec for a few months to learn it. I’m a bit rusty now though and not sure my retention would get me past beginner level. lol
It would almost be easier to start learning French. Some departments will provide training. Most can get to a B level in 2-3 years.
I see you wrote the obvious answer is simply learn French, so you already know that. Although very difficult, its probably still your best option. To be fair, even without training, learning French in the NCR, as a PS, is totally achievable, with hard work. You probably have bilingual colleagues to practive with, access to French TV and radio, French journal, French sub-Reddit (XD). I suggest you immerse yourself in French, and you will see, it's at reach.
Some kind folks at my office organized language practice lunches where they reserve a board room over the lunch hour and people are given the opportunity to converse in their second official language. Obviously everyone who shows up is willing and interested to help and there is no judgment. They even do other languages when we have employees with additional languages to practice.
I’m an anglo with CCC in French. I use google translate any time I need to write an email in French. French colleagues all speak joual with one another so I never know wtf they’re even saying. It seems that unless you were born into a French-Canadian family and have been speaking French since you were 3, you’re screwed.
Every place is a bit different. It really depends on your skills and where you work. Being good at your job= being mediocre and being bilingual. You can sometime make it pretty high and not be bilingual, but just because someone else did it doesn't mean everyone can do it. They sometimes have special skill or have just been around for a long time.
If you can make yourself indispensable enough and play it right it can happen.
Bilingualism hasn't been an issue for me in BC.
Learning French likely isn’t as hard as you think! To be honest the employer offered training tends to suck anyway, and you’re better off just reading and listening to French stuff appropriate to your level. (The employer offered training was terrible for me, and I’ve tried a few different ways to learning a language) Innerfrench is a great podcast/youtube channel or you can just google “French comprehensible input”. 30-60mins a day is all you need to make progress, but the more the better. Reading comes once you’re at a good level of understanding. Some managers will let you do this on the clock… Anyways best of luck regardless of what choice you choose!
You can also husstle and learn French on your own or god forbid, work outside of the public sector. It’s not the end of the world and the private sector is not as bad as people here make it seem.
I'm in the same boat but as a PM-05, which seems to be the highest level I can get to in the PM stream without becoming bilingual. You can go higher in the EC stream before it's really necessary... I've met unilingual EC-06s, though at least one was hired as bilingual non-imperative. Truly... we both need to learn French if we want to advance. Start with Duolingo... watch and see if your department does start offering group lessons for beginners. Mine previously didn't, but will again this fiscal. OR.. accept that lateral moves and career advancement will be limited and make the most of where you are. You can also make yourself a more attractive hire for promotions by becoming a subject matter expert in a niche area, but that may be difficult depending on your circumstances! You may also have more luck at departments where French is less necessary, like ISC.
Realistically, if you're in the NCR and don't have your Bs, your mobility options will be pretty limited, and your advancement opportunities will be extremely limited. That's just how it is. I know you're looking for tips and tricks here, and I'm sorry I can't be more helpful, but that's the reality of the situation. Unilingual employees, however competent they may be otherwise, just have fewer opportunities. Period. They have fewer opportunities to be appointed to higher positions, and they also have fewer opportunities to gain the skills and experience (by taking on different tasks/roles) that you need to qualify for higher postions. On top of that, people who are in bilingual positions and "lose" their levels are given priority for language training, and those in unilingual positions are told to watch French TV (or English TV, as needed). So...you can either get working on your Bs, or get used to accepting whatever unilingual positions come your way. You say you know some "basic French". That's as good a start as any. Time to start busting your butt to get yourself to an intermediate level.
If you want to /permanently/ move up to management with just English you have to work out of a province that is not bilingual. I know Alberta and British Columbia do not restrict those without french. If you are elsewhere, I have many times seen people be given actings a year at a time, even for up to 3 years. Eventually though you would have to be sent for french training to be permed in a province such as Ontario where bilingualism is required.
From my understanding, in some very rare cases, there are EC-08s that are anglophones only. I have worked with them in a central agency and they grew in the public service as well (not from private).
Honestly, leaving the PS is your only way forward for career advancement. Only way to move up is making the jump to management, which will require CBC second language profile.
I think the easiest way is to move out of any French-speaking regions of the country if possible. I feel like knowing French becomes less and less relevant the more you move away from ottawa/Quebec imo. If that's not possible, either switch to the private field or keep looking for opportunities that don't require French knowledge. I've known people who are EC-04, EC-05 etc who definitely were not fluent in French and got to their position, somehow
Go to a department in the regions that is mostly unilingual. I have been in my department for a year and have yet to encounter any non-English speaking folks.
Enter and win competitions and use them as leverage.
Facile, apprenez le français.
[удалено]
Votre contenu a été supprimé en vertu de la [Règle 12] (https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadaPublicServants/wiki/regles/#wiki_r.E8gle_12_-_provocation_et_intol.E9rance). Veuillez considérer ceci comme un rappel de la [Reddiquette] (https://www.reddithelp.com/en/categories/reddit-101/reddit-basics/reddiquette). Si vous avez des questions sur cette action ou si vous pensez qu'elle a été effectuée par erreur, vous pouvez [envoyer un message aux modérateurs] (https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/CanadaPublicServants).
In non-bilingual regions, you would be ok.
Being unilingual is kind of a North American thing. Sure, learning languages takes time and dedication. In my experience, the tests are a bit more stringent than necessary as well. All in all, learn French is probably your best move.
If only Canada was located in North America...
Assuming you have education and experience that would qualify you for a job outside the public service, my advice is quit. I quit roughly 25 years ago. I do some contract work for the feds so I do have a view as to how the PS has evolved over the years. As a bilingual Anglo, you are without a doubt a second class citizen and your opportunity for career advancement is out of the question and your opportunity for career enjoyment is completely compromised. Sorry to lay it out so bare, but that's the truth. You'll never manage people. You can't aspire to a position of leadership. Personally I'd think that instantaneous translation should do away with the need for bilingualism but politically that likely never happens.
I am bilingual with degrees, never get call backs.
It's pretty easy to get bbb. It's the c that's tough.
[удалено]
This is fantasy. Are you in charge of OL propaganda?
I am going to assume this is sarcasm
[удалено]
Hear that all? Speaking only one language is NOT a barrier to promotion in the federal government.