The latest round of the Interchange Program saw 11 FIs from six regions in six departments come to Ottawa from January 23-25 to familiarize themselves with workflow in the National Capital Region (NCR).

On the first day, participants toured the Treasury Board Secretariat offices and were introduced to the systems and operations used there. They also participated in an FI-02 onboarding session that featured talks on communication and presentations from senior executives. This cohort also had a chance to chat with the Assistant Comptroller General Tom Scrimger.

FIs from the regions spent their last two days in Ottawa shadowing fellow FIs at Public Service and Procurement Canada where they learned about both the challenges and opportunities of working in the NCR. They also shared their experience working in the regions.

“I was able to draw parallels between what I saw with Job Shadowing and my own work – we share similar struggles within our line of work. I also got some good ideas from the job shadowing sessions that I am hoping to bring back to my own workplace,” one participant said.

There was also a social mixer to encourage FIs from the regions and those working in the NCR to share more about their work and profession in general. Networking is important for FIs as it helps you build a contact base which is useful in situations such as sharing information about job opportunities and new trends in financial management.

Participants

Aaron Flader CBSA Vancouver
Amanda Lewis INAC Quebec
Carol Robinson ESDC Winnipeg
Harminder Manota ECCC Toronto
Jenny Wong ESDC Toronto
Kitty Lam ESDC Vancouver
Mandy Yung ESDC Toronto
Marc Savoie ESDC Moncton
Mohammad Bhojani AAFC Winnipeg
Natalie Beaudoin INAC Toronto
Shawn Melnychuk WED Edmonton

About the Interchange Program

Participants in this year’s Interchange Program were randomly selected from a pool of regional FI applicants. The remaining two rounds will take place in February and March. You can view selected participants here.

To those who were not selected or didn’t have a chance to apply, we hope to bring back the Interchange Program next year and the application period will be announced in due time. For any questions about the Interchange Program, please contact jcdp@acfo-acaf.com.

The Interchange Program is made possible by the Joint Career Development Program (JCDP), a one-million-dollar fund that was secured by ACFO during the last round of collective bargaining. This historic investment managed by ACFO and the Office of the Comptroller General is designed specifically for the professional development of the FI Community.