Human Resources Manual - 124 - Staffing Priority on NWTTA Competitions

1. Prior to commencing an NWTTA competition, it is important that Selection Committee members understand how the Affirmative Action Policy and Priority Ranking impact their decisions throughout the staffing process. This section provides an overview of the Priority Ranking for NWTTA positions, particularly as it relates to the following staffing activities:
   • Preparing the Job Advertisement (Section 125);
   • Screening Applications (Section 129);
   • Evaluating Interviews, Assignments and Tests (Section 131);
   • Job Offers (Section 135); and
   • Regrets (Section 136).

2. Deputy Head is the Senior Public Service employee of a Government Department, Board or Agency. For Divisional Education Councils, the Deputy Head is the Director/Superintendent.
3. Corporate Human Resources (CHR) is the Corporate Human Resources Division of the Department of Human Resources.
4. Human Resources Representative means those employees of the Department of Human Resources designated to co-ordinate the recruitment process.
5. Selection Committee includes, but is not necessarily restricted to, a Human Resources Representative and the Supervisor of the position being filled.  Where appropriate, a member with technical expertise or community representative may be added to the Selection Committee, either as a full participant or in an advisory capacity with no vote in the final hiring decision.
6. Affirmative Action Policy means the guidelines that support the GNWT’s commitment to a competent Public Service that is representative of the population it serves (see the Human Resources website for a copy of the Affirmative Action Policy).
7. Lay-Off Teachers means NWTTA Staff Members who have received official lay-off notice and have staffing priority.
8. Northern Teacher Graduate means eligible NWT students graduating from a recognized post-secondary teacher education program.  These Northern Teacher Graduates have no prior teaching experience and must meet NWT residency requirements as defined under the Northern Graduate Employment Program.
9. NWT Resident Teacher means NWT residents not currently employed by the GNWT and eligible to teach in the NWT.
10. Non-NWT Resident Teacher means non-NWT residents eligible to teach in the NWT.
11. Transfer Applicants means those teachers currently employed by the Government as indeterminate employees and who are eligible for transfer or promotion. Transfer applicants must have successfully completed two years of employment with the GNWT and have completed their probationary period.
12. Resident means those candidates who have lived in the Northwest Territories for one year or more.
13. Indigenous Aboriginal Persons means those persons who are descendants of the Dene, Inuit or Metis people, indigenous to the present boundaries of the Northwest Territories and includes any aboriginal persons resident at birth pursuant to Section 7.1 of the Vital Statistics Act, and any Canadian aboriginal persons who have lived more than half of their lives in the Northwest Territories.
14. Indigenous Non-Aboriginal Persons are non-aboriginal persons born in the Northwest Territories or who have lived more than half their lives in the Northwest Territories.
15. Resident Disabled Persons are persons who are living in and have lived in the Northwest Territories for at least one year immediately prior to applying on a competition and who are at a disadvantage because of a medically certified learning, mental, emotional, or physical disability where the disability handicaps the person in taking advantage of employment, training and career advancement opportunities. A person without such a disability would not encounter these difficulties.

16. All job advertisements and competition posters shall identify the GNWT as an Affirmative Action employer.
17. Staffing priority on NWTTA competitions is defined by the GNWT Affirmative Action Policy, the GNWT/NWTTA Collective Agreement, and the Maximizing Northern Employment- Northern Graduate Employment Program.
18. NWTTA staff that receive notice of lay-off shall receive staffing priority (see Section 1608- Lay-Off).
19. Northern Teacher Graduates have been guaranteed a position by the Premier and will be given priority, in accordance with the Affirmative Action Policy, over all applicants except those on approved leave or who have received notice of lay off.
    
    Priority for NWTTA shall be granted as follows:
    
    

    Priority 1:	Teachers on approved leave;
    Priority 2:	Teachers who have received official lay-off notice;
    Priority 3:	Indigenous Aboriginal Persons;
    Priority 4:	Indigenous Non-Aboriginal or Resident Disabled Person;
    Priority 5:	Indeterminate Teachers eligible for Transfer or Promotion and not included in Priorities 3 & 4;
    Priority 6:	Term teachers not included in Priorities 3 & 4;
    Priority 7:	NWT Resident Teachers not employed by the GNWT or included in Priorities 3 & 4;
    Priority 8:	Teachers who are not residents of the NWT and who are not included in Priorities.

20. Indigenous aboriginal or indigenous non-aboriginal persons who qualify under the program and are residing outside the NWT are granted staffing priority.
21. In terms of Nunavut beneficiaries, if they lived in the NWT as of March 31, 1999 and remained in the NWT, they retain their status.  If they had a break in residency, they can use pre-division residency in the NWT as counting towards their total residency.  If they had status as indigenous aboriginal in the pre-division boundaries and remained in the NWT, they maintain that.  To be considered for disabled, resident women in management or non-traditional, they must meet the requirement of one-year residency within the current NWT boundaries.
22. Applicants are responsible for identifying their eligibility for priority consideration when applying for a Government teaching position.
23. Applicants applying for priority as a disabled person shall provide medical certification of that disability.
24. The Selection Committee may verify staffing priority by requesting additional proof such as but not limited to a health, treaty, Metis or beneficiary card, or confirmation of length of residency in the NWT.
25. The Selection Committee may contact Corporate Human Resources to verify an applicant’s eligibility for consideration as a Northern Teacher Graduate under the Northern Graduate Employment Program.
26. If the Selection Committee chooses to verify the Northern Teacher Graduate, Indigenous Aboriginal, Indigenous Non-Aboriginal and Resident Disabled status of a candidate who does not declare their priority status, they must do so for all such candidates.
27. Transfer applicants will NOT be considered for vacancies after May 15 of each year, unless prior approval is granted by the Deputy Head of the potentially affected school board, in order to support efforts of all the boards to finalize their staffing complement for the upcoming school year prior to the end of the current school year. 
28. Teachers returning from approved leave are entitled to a position upon their return without competition.
29. Term NWT Resident Teachers who obtained their term position through competition may be appointed to an indeterminate position of a similar nature at their Education Board without competition.

30. The Human Resources Representative includes the following phrase on all competition advertisements: “Candidates must clearly identify their eligibility in order to receive priority under the Affirmative Action Policy”.

31. If necessary, the Selection Committee verifies the priority status of candidates prior to screening.

32. Priority status is applied to create a short list of applicants to be interviewed (see Section 131- Screening Applications).

33. The Selection Committee ranks qualified, suitable applicants of the same priority by merit following interviews.

34. Staffing priority will be given to employees on the list of teachers who have received lay-off notice according to their Affirmative Action status and length of service.

35. Higher priority candidates shall be considered for an interview before lower priority candidates.

36. Higher-priority candidates who receive a passing mark on an interview shall be granted hiring priority over lower-priority candidates.

Public Service Act

NWTTA Collective Agreement