administrative assistant

manager

career consultant

child protection practitioner

case worker

Government Of Alberta

1) If they see you are a hard worker with passion, then the long time employees “lifers” dump their work on new comers. They dont like others who might outshine them because it threatens their ego, threatens their intelligence, threatens the status quo minimum level of work requirement/threshold.
2) Lifers are a clicke group, new comers/outsiders not welcome; those hired from outside are treated poorly, especially during probation period.
3) Innovation or new ideas just like in communism is not wanted because it threatens them and the decades long status quo. 
4) Innovation or something done to make a process more efficient threatens jobs of otherwise threatens redundant people.
5) They may withold information thats important to do your job.
6) They create drama situations that get the new employee involved/entangled, then blame it on the new employee.
7) I recall one of the receptionists being a drama queen, rude and a bully.
8) Some (but not all) in management are inept sociopathic bullies.
9) HR is complicit in the bullying. Union does not bother to investigate or get statements from witnesses. Any point of view or side taken is that of the manager as provided by the complainant. Lack of investigation or getting witness statements prevents the accused of being heard, understood or exonerated.
10) The job description in the ad posting will look so exciting to bate you in, many different tasks to do. The reality is your job is a typical beauracratic pigeon hole. You do about 2 main tasks day after day. 
11) Several of them are not even educated nor professionally certified to work in the designated field/profession/industry. Some of these people simply have their cushy job because of nepotism or friends favortism. And that’s another way they can get away with virtually anything. Someone who is new, or who has an equal employment level, but has more education or certification is a threat to the “lifers” ego.
12) Some people who are supposedly nearing retirement who are supposed to be mentoring their skills to new comers are aweful at teaching anything. They cant teach anything because they are inconsistent in what they do themselves. They also have no real vested interest in teaching or sharing knowledge of everything because their view is that someone new who knows too much or does as good or a better job as them is a threat to their own job security. They want you to stumble in the dark to maintain their control. And if you make a mistake during the learning phase, they actually put that in their notes and will use it against you later.

The union positions have good pay and some of them have very high starting pay with only a few step levels meaning you can reach 100-107k within 2-3 years from the bottom of the range. However, in management there has been a general range freeze and also an in-range increase freeze for many years now. It means someone new could be hired in a Program Services role starting at 87k and within 3 year reach the top of their range which can be as high 100-107k. Whereas a junior Manager could start at 80k flat and be at the same pay 4 years later due to freezes.

Union positions can also have significant overtime and limited responsibilities which basically means higher pay and more opportunity for time off and things like working from home, flex days etc.

Opportunities wise, there is no such thing as a "promotion" although there can be acting roles for more senior staff. Permanent promotion means you have to apply to a different position via a competition just like anyone else, and often times they are open competitions open to the public. If you want to apply to a higher level position you simply apply to different competitions, get interviews, and eventually you will be hired somewhere (usually in a different area). It only takes a few years to go from PS level (about 3 years minimum required) to Manager, and then probably another 4-5 years or so as a Specialist (policy units) or Manager to jump to Director. This can be very different in smaller internal policy units versus larger front line service delivery units. After that there is nowhere else to really go other than lateral moves or maybe in time to an Executive Director position. Each higher classification only has a marginally higher pay range. The difference is only significant if at the bottom of each range.

The amount of stress, workload, and management really depends on the ministry, division, branch, and unit. They can be very different. And it also depends on the type of work the branch or unit does.

People who claim there are no advancement opportunities are either not applying broadly outside their work areas, or not understanding that true promotions only come from applying to competency based competitions screened by HR (again usually outside the work unit or even ministry). The only exception would be when someone was already acting and then applied to the competition for the position they have already been working in.

A typical day is defined by heavy administrative processes and a significant amount of "red tape." Most of the morning is spent navigating internal systems that feel outdated, followed by back-to-back meetings that often end without a clear decision. It is a high-volume environment where the pace can feel sluggish due to the layers of approval required for even minor tasks.
I have gained a deep understanding of how provincial bureaucracy functions and the complexities of public sector workforce planning. I’ve also learned the importance of patience and how to manage expectations when working within a rigid hierarchy where change happens very slowly.
Management tends to be very risk-averse. While the individuals are generally professional, the leadership style is often top-down, leaving little room for creative problem-solving or autonomy. Communication can feel siloed, and feedback loops are long, which can make it difficult to feel like your contributions are truly being heard or implemented.
The culture is quite formal and traditional. While there is a strong sense of job security and decent benefits, the atmosphere lacks the energy or innovation found in the private sector. It can feel a bit stagnant, and the "it’s always been done this way" mentality is prevalent across many departments.
The most frustrating aspect is the inability to pivot quickly. Seeing an obvious solution to a problem but having to wait weeks or months for departmental alignment is incredibly draining. The lack of agility makes it hard to feel like you are making a tangible, immediate.
The best part is definitely the stability and the work-life balance. The pension and benefits packages are competitive, and generally, when the clock strikes 4:30 PM, you are able to truly disconnect and focus on your family and personal life without the pressure of after-hours emails.


I really enjoyed working for the Gov't of Alberta and was bumed it was for a limited time. I enjoyed working in a role engaging the people of Alberta and help them in their quest to seek service from the government.
I had a great work crew who were like a family to me and provided me with opportunity to wear various hats as a frontline admin. support.
I learned a great deal from an incredibly diverse group of Albertans who were dedicated in helping folks who were seeking help from the gov't at a time in their lives when they definately needed the safety net accorded by the great people of this province.
I ended up in the ministry of community and social services as part of an newly introduced program via Alberta Jobs Corp called Administrative Support program where Albertans (who were either under employed or had a gap in their employment history) with  prior experience working in an Administrative capacity, were placed in various Government of Alberta Ministry Offices  across the Province to fill in temporary roles for up to 12 months with the goal of updating their skills, providing current work references and most importantly, getting the necessary work experience to rejoin the provinces working population.
I learned a lot from the incredible employees at the ministry whilst providing critical frontline support to Albertans from all works of life. 
I wish I was got a full-time role but I was lucky to experience those 12 months and would love to go back.

Nepotism and favoritism are rampant and the key to advancement – either by being connected politically or to the senior management.

Senior managements’ engagement is abysmal and this is reflected in the overall workplace culture.

There is a terrible double standard between senior managements’ high expectations of the rank and file and their low expectations of themselves. Deadlines are frequently not met owing to their foot dragging - then blamed on the staff.

Communication between management and staff is incredibly poor and hampers staffs' ability to perform.

Passive aggressive bullying and belittlement are all too common for an organization that has regular (and ultimately meaningless) initiatives aimed at anti-bullying and employee engagement.

Constructive feedback is not provided to staff, nor tolerated from staff. Providing constructive feedback will result in punishment - even when done through the supposedly anonymous employee survey (and my ADM simply shrugged his poor showing off and blamed it on his superiors during a session where he chewed the division out over the results of the survey).

Training and development opportunities are provided in a similar fashion to opportunities for advancement - through nepotism and being a member of the insider clique.

Everything changes constantly, and not always for the better. My team, in particular, suffers from absolutely horrible management from people who should not be in supervisory positions, although I recognize that this may not be the case for everyone everywhere. It makes it very hard to want to be to inspired to create efficiencies and positive change when the ones at the top are complacent and don't advocate at all for their staff, and any sort of suggestion is met with instant pushback because government. I work with a lot of older people who are close to retirement so they don't care, so a lot of the work ends up falling on the shoulders of the younger ones to pick up. Job is very stable if you're a permanent employee; however, if you have any drive at all to grow your career you will be sorely disappointed as opportunities are few and far between. You can expect to be given more responsibilities and duties without the pay increase because government. Little to no appreciation from supervisors (they literally forgot about Admin Professionals Day - and they're ADMIN SUPERVISORS). Other teams in the office are more pleasant and supportive. I've been here for almost 5 years and want to leave my department because it's the most toxic work environment I've ever been a part of. 

Working in a frontline position at the Government of Alberta (Ministry of Advanced Ed) was a good mix of administrative tasks, phone communication, and interpersonal communication/working with colleagues. It is true that many processes take quite some time to be implemented, and at times it can feel like upper management doesn't listen to frontline workers. For me, this wasn't the case, but I can see it being true with a larger team or ministry. The biggest con for me was my coworkers, who lived up the stereotype of lazy government workers who do the absolute bare minimum and who constantly make huge mistakes that cost a lot of people a lot of money.
The salary, benefits, breaks throughout the day, pension plan, etc. were simply unmatched, even down to the "Appointment Time" that is available to be used for medical appointments, etc. that often occur during the middle of the workday and at other jobs, are impossible to schedule.
Overall, I would recommend working with the Government of Alberta to someone who is looking for an office environment, administration-heavy workload, and friendly but lazy people to work with.

o	Client activity – review the registry offices daily activity to ensure licences and identification cards will be printed in a uniform manner. Contacting the individual registries to fix any mistakes made.
o	Ensuring that the registry offices provide their clients with transit permits that reflect our policy. Letting the offices know of any mistakes they have made to minimize future mistakes.
o	Checking void inventory from the registry offices to be written off.
o	Checking reimbursement claims and analyzing them to ensure the registry offices either can or cannot be reimbursed and notifying them of the outcome and any reasons for the outcome.
o	Input individual clerk errors onto a program called CARS to keep track of mistakes made.
o	Use of online government database program for a large portion of the duties.
o	Returning mail that has been sent to us in error with a letter stating the reason it is being returned. If the contents are motor vehicle related we also let the client know the possible solutions to how the contents should be dealt with.
o	Ensuring licences from other countries and provinces are reciprocal with Alberta when clients want to exchange their licence for an Alberta one.

• Preparing all offer letters, position extension letters, relocation agreements and contract of employment
• Initiating and maintain competition in the system and by creating, maintaining, closing and auditing manual competition files.
• Recruitment and selection to entry level wage positions by preparing advertising, pre-screening applications, administering testing.
• Setting up interviews, preparing interview package, participating in the interviews as required, conducting reference checks, verbal offers and preparing and conducting reference checks.
• Assists employees with file reviews and destruction of documents following the appropriate procedures and guidelines
• Make travel arrangements including vehicle and hotel bookings
• Maintains all administration and position files and disposition of the same as well as disposition of employee relations files.
• Commencement and orientation of new employees
• Generate various reports for Managers and Human Resource Consultants
• Scheduling appointments , operation standard office equipment and processing both incoming and outgoing mail

A typical day at the office I am usually at my desk working on paperwork, checking emails or in meetings at various buildings in my portfolio.

It's been a valuable working experience getting to understand property management and project management hands on.

I fortunately have a good working relationship with my co-workers. We have good communication and everyone gets along as a team.

The hardest part of the job is the demands from our tenants in the buildings we maintain and operate. In some buildings we deal with high government officials, MLA's, judges and lawyers. We do our very best to accommodate them in an efficient and timely manner.

The most enjoyable part of my job is the location. I work at the beautiful Legislature grounds at Government Centre. It is one of the nicest areas in Edmonton, especially in the summer time. The view from my office is breathtaking as it faces the river valley. 

I also appreciate the work-life balance working Monday-Friday, having evenings and weekends off to spend time with my family and friends. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Administrative assistant 13 salaries reported	$50,687 per year
Manager 9 salaries reported	$106,424 per year
Career consultant 41 salaries reported	$81,896 per year
Child protection practitioner 44 salaries reported	$75,318 per year
Case worker 27 salaries reported	$82,388 per year

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