I’ve written about Hidden Canadian Government Gems before. Essentially these are government services that I have discovered through my consulting work, which are not always well known, yet extremely valuable. One in particular is a client of ours WorkinginCanada.gc.ca (part of HRSDC). Essentially, they have created an incredible mash-up tool that allows you to search for an occupation that you’re interested in and receive up-to-date, accurate information from a wide variety of integrated databases. It puts certain private sector fee-based tools to shame. It was initially developed for skilled immigrants looking to work in Canada, however once you try it out yourself you’ll realize that it’s useful for domestic audiences as well.
What I’m especially proud of however, is the level of progress WiC has made in terms of social media engagement. They actually make an effort to respond to questions on their Facebook Page that are within their mandate and re-direct questions that aren’t. Obviously, there is still room for improvement in terms of “human tone”, but that will surely come eventually as the GoC as a whole opens up to true dialogue on these channels.
There is also the very useful branded Working in Canada YouTube Channel with useful videos and enabled comments. The Working in Canada Twitter Account is currently used as a broadcast medium, however I’m optimistic that it will transition towards an engagement platform eventually as well.
What I’m most excited about however is their efforts in the mobile space. Here’s a stat for you: Over 50% of internet access in 2012 will occur via a mobile device yet under 1% of all websites are mobile friendly. It’s great to see proactive government organizations taking initiative to address this. A while back I actually created a Google Doc under www.mobilegovernment.ca to begin compiling a list of government websites in Canada that are now mobile friendly and/or have created a stand-alone app. This list has since grown considerably, to the point where I even decided to create a presentation on the State of Mobile in the Canadian Government.
The folks over at WiC have launched the Mobile Working in Canada Website, which is essentially the WiC tool itself optimized for cross-platform mobile devices. Try it out. Tell anyone you know that is looking for work anywhere in Canada, they will appreciate it. This tool is brilliant and best of all, continually evolving. I have also provided the HTML embeddable widget below , which is another great way Working in Canada is expanding its reach via social platforms.