The Treasury Board is offering free French tutoring to black federal employees, citing bilingual proficiency tests as a barrier to their career advancement.
Blacklock's Reporter says the initiative aims to address the under-representation of black executives in public administration by providing targeted language training.
“Black employees are under-represented at executive levels,” said Treasury Board spokesperson Martin Potvin. “Language training has been identified as a barrier for black employees’ advancement.”
According to the Board, only 168 of 7,200 executives in core public administration self-identify as black. The Board did not disclose the cost of the program, nor did it provide data on the percentage of black employees who have failed bilingual proficiency exams.
Training options include self-directed online courses and part-time instructor-led sessions.
An internal notice from the Chief Human Resources Officer stated that the program was exclusively available to black employees.
“To be considered for this language training opportunity, applicants must meet the following criteria: identify as black,” it read.
The notice encouraged participants to “break down barriers and advance your career” by dedicating one to three hours per week to study.
The Treasury Board said the initiative was developed after engagement with black public servants, who raised concerns about inconsistent access to language training and its impact on career development.
However, the board did not explain why French proficiency requirements disproportionately affected black employees.
The training contract was awarded to the Language Research Development Group, a Montréal-based company that received $10.04 million last year for language training services across multiple federal departments and agencies.