FAQs

The Navigar Learning Platform is a web app that combines expert data on the future of work with PIPSC’s knowledge of labour markets and your deep understanding of your job and career goals.

Navigar helps you create a personalised training plan that’s based on your current skills to find the ones you need to move forward in your career.

Members of the IT Group will receive an activation email with free access to all of our training partners starting at the end of October of 2024. Access to the training will be free thanks to the Educational Fund that was negotiated into their collective agreement.

As Navigar rolls out to all PIPSC members in 2025, we’ll be advising each group on a case-by-case basis of exactly what their members have access to.

Navigar is built in AWS and was designed to autoscale. All backend services (Lambda functions, GraphQl APIs, etc) are serverless – these will scale in real time to whatever capacity is needed to support the load.

Data is stored in DynamoDB tables, which have a predictable response time of 5ms for any indexed data. Scaling to 75,000 members will not be a problem.

Navigar is built on AWS in the Angular Javascript framework. It communicates with the backend through Amplify and GraphQL queries.

The data is stored in a heavily indexed DynamoDB instance, queried with OpenSearch. Authentication is through user pools in Cognito. The data is fully end-to-end encrypted, and managed internally with a serverless architecture using Python in Lambdas along with SNS and SQS.

We have installed a number of monitors to alert us of CPU/RAM over-usage and to highlight any bottlenecks if they occur. We will also continue to revise the caching and indexing as we monitor the system.

Finally, we’re using Point-In-Time recovery on the DynamoDB tables. This gives us a rolling 35 day backup of the data, in addition to the ability to manually trigger table backups.

There are two components in Navigar’s front end that are on our near term roadmap to accelerate.

The searchable catalogs of courses and careers both retrieve the full catalogs before the search can be used. This results in a fully browser-cached – and therefore fast – search and filter functionality, but at the cost of an initial load of a few seconds. This was a good tradeoff when the catalogs were small, and is still quite within UX limits, but we have decided to implement lazy loading, targeted local caching, and backend filtering, to ensure it scales well as the catalogs grow.

Navigar is a smart online skills development planning tool that’s free to PIPSC members.
 
Whether you want to advance in your current career or pivot to a new profession, Navigar provides the information you need, and a skills development plan tailored to your goals.
 
With data-backed industry insights into available careers and the future of work, plus knowledge of more than 40,000 available resources: courses, books, audiobooks etc. Navigar helps you plan and advocate for your career development.

No, Navigar is a skills development planning tool. It is designed to help PIPSC members get from where they are in their careers to where they want to go.
 
As part of that service, Navigar identifies the skills required to bridge the gap and lists applicable courses available from the learning platform partners, matching relevant courses and training materials to support your unique career path and goals.
 
Navigar lists training options that you may choose to explore through the respective training providers, such as Percipio and Canada School of Public Service (CSPS).

You can use Navigar to plan your career development in several ways:
 

• Explore and discover career options relevant to your current skill sets, as well as other career paths.
• Learn about different skill sets and how to up-level a specific skill.
• Gain knowledge about the future of work and how to prepare for coming changes. For example, Navigar publishes data-based insights about how trends such as automation and AI will affect specific jobs and create new jobs.
• Identify and visualize the skills and knowledge gaps between where you are in your career today and where you want to go next.
• Know what courses and training will help you close any skill gaps on your identified career path.
• Prepare a skills development plan that can be shared with your employer.

Navigar was designed to take the guesswork out of planning and pursuing a career; more than 70% of PIPSC members want tangible proactive steps on career development

It was developed based on input and feedback from PIPSC members. We engaged with PIPSC members to understand the challenges they face in planning and navigating their careers. PIPSC members and staff have provided critical input throughout the development of Navigar.

Navigar helps PIPSC realize its vision to provide outstanding career support and advancement to our members so they can thrive in the workforce.

Members of the IT Group will receive an activation email with free access to all of our training partners starting at the end of October of 2024. Access to the training will be free thanks to the Educational Fund that was negotiated into their collective agreement.

As Navigar rolls out to all PIPSC members in 2025, we’ll be advising each group on a case-by-case basis of exactly what their members have access to.

Yes, Navigar’s planning features and insights are free to PIPSC members thanks to funding from the Future Skills Center (FSC) a federal initiative to fund innovation projects to strengthen access to high-quality career advice, skill building resources, and learning.

The training courses that Navigar recommends are offered through our training partners, starting with Percipio, GoFLUENT and the Canadian School of Public Service (CSPS). CSPS courses are offered for free, and courses through Percipio and other training partners will be available either at special reduced prices for Navigar users or for free through a special purchase by a member group.

As Navigar rolls out to all PIPSC members in 2025, we’ll be advising each group on a case-by-case basis of exactly what training their members have access to and any associated cost.

Each learning provider’s pricing and fees will apply. Some may be subscription-based, others may be priced per course, and yet others will be free (for example, courses from the Canadian School of Public Service (CSPS)).

PIPSC works with learning partners to negotiate great deals on courses for PIPSC members.

One advantage of having a concrete skills development plan from Navigar is that you can share it with your employer. It will help you and your manager quantify and justify your training needs and budget.

The Navigar Learning Platform is a web app that combines expert data on the future of work with PIPSC’s knowledge of labour markets and your deep understanding of your job and career goals.

Navigar helps you create a personalised training plan that’s based on your current skills to find the ones you need to move forward in your career.

Navigar is built in AWS and was designed to autoscale. All backend services (Lambda functions, GraphQl APIs, etc) are serverless – these will scale in real time to whatever capacity is needed to support the load.

Data is stored in DynamoDB tables, which have a predictable response time of 5ms for any indexed data. Scaling to 75,000 members will not be a problem.

Navigar is built on AWS in the Angular Javascript framework. It communicates with the backend through Amplify and GraphQL queries.

The data is stored in a heavily indexed DynamoDB instance, queried with OpenSearch. Authentication is through user pools in Cognito. The data is fully end-to-end encrypted, and managed internally with a serverless architecture using Python in Lambdas along with SNS and SQS.

We have installed a number of monitors to alert us of CPU/RAM over-usage and to highlight any bottlenecks if they occur. We will also continue to revise the caching and indexing as we monitor the system.

Finally, we’re using Point-In-Time recovery on the DynamoDB tables. This gives us a rolling 35 day backup of the data, in addition to the ability to manually trigger table backups.

There are two components in Navigar’s front end that are on our near term roadmap to accelerate.

The searchable catalogs of courses and careers both retrieve the full catalogs before the search can be used. This results in a fully browser-cached – and therefore fast – search and filter functionality, but at the cost of an initial load of a few seconds. This was a good tradeoff when the catalogs were small, and is still quite within UX limits, but we have decided to implement lazy loading, targeted local caching, and backend filtering, to ensure it scales well as the catalogs grow.

Navigar is being built for all active PIPSC members in good standing. You’ll just need to create an account to access the platform and the training.

Members of the IT Group will receive their activation email to register starting at the end of October. As Navigar rolls out to PIPSC’s other constituent groups in 2025, each member will receive an activation email at the email address that we have on file for you.

Navigar makes assumptions about your job-related skills based on the current job role you identify, combined with industry data.

To get the most from Navigar, you should update and validate your career and skills profile to ensure the tool makes relevant and accurate recommendations. For example, you may have acquired skills from a previous career, an acting role, or a secondment.

By updating your job role and skills information in Navigar, the tool will provide the most relevant information for YOUR career planning.

Navigar’s powerful engine gathers, analyzes, and consolidates data from several sources, including:
 

• Labour market trends from Canadian census data.
• Global workforce trends and predictive analysis from Faethm.
• Job-skill requirements for specific roles, also from Faethm.
• PIPSC’s deep knowledge of the Canadian public sector workplace based on its 70,000 members.
• Information about tens of thousands of courses from learning providers, such as Percipio, the Canadian School of Public Service (CSPS), and others.
• Secondary research from a variety of reputable sources, including the World Economic Forum, International Labour Organization, and more.

To recommend career options that are relevant to you, Navigar considers your current role and skill sets, then shows you careers that require compatible skills. For example, recommendations may include:
 

• Roles that require similar skills but at a higher degree of expertise.
• Other jobs and careers that require skills you already have plus skills you may want to develop.

Navigar compares your current skills to those needed in any target role you choose. It then shows you the gaps between the skills you have today and what you’ll need to advance in your current role or to pursue a new path.

Navigar reviews a large inventory of courses available from training providers such as Percipio and the Canadian School of Public Service (CSPS).

Navigar then compares the skills taught in those courses with the skills required to advance along your identified career path, and curates a playlist of learning options that can meet your needs.

Your Navigar learning plan is useful in several ways, including:
 

When Navigar launches in October, 2024, it will have access to more than 40,000 courses and training materials from Percipio, goFLUENT Language Training and course offerings from the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS). Pluralsight will be added in December.

Over time, Navigar will partner with other learning providers to expand its recommendations to members.

Navigar stores its members’ user data in a document storing cloud platform.

PIPSC implements security measures such as encryption, access controls, and network security to ensure that data is protected from unauthorized access, theft, or loss. PIPSC uses encryption to protect data in transit and at rest.

One of the ways we protect your data is by hashing it. Hashing is a process that converts your data into an unreadable, scrambled format. This means that even if someone were to gain access to our system, they would not be able to read your data in its original form.

We use industry-standard security measures to protect your information from unauthorized access, alteration, or destruction. This includes using encryption technologies, firewalls, and other security measures to safeguard your data.

We do not sell or share your information with any third parties unless required by law.

If you have any questions or concerns about our privacy practices, please contact us.

By using our application, you agree to the terms and conditions outlined in this privacy statement. We reserve the right to make changes to this statement at any time, so please check back periodically for updates.