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FAQs Frequently Asked Questions for Municipalities
1. What is the Municipal Internship Program for Administrators? Alberta Municipal Affairs sponsors the Municipal Internship Program for Administrators in partnership with Alberta municipalities. It is designed to attract recent post-secondary graduates to the field of municipal administration. Its objective is to assist in the training and development of competent, well-rounded senior municipal administrators. It is expected that upon successful completion of the program, interns will be prepared to enter municipal administration in Alberta’s municipalities. The program provides funding to municipalities in Alberta so they can hire and support the training of an intern for a 12-month period. During the year, the intern will be exposed to many different aspects of managing a municipality. They will be supervised, mentored, and coached by either the chief administrative officer (CAO) or a senior member of the management team. Program scope is broad so interns have the opportunity to explore each of the key functions of their host municipality. The year will also include sessions organized by Municipal Affairs where all interns will meet as a group for the purpose of networking, becoming more familiar with industry trends, learning about provincial services and meeting provincial personnel. These sessions will also permit the interns to share with one another about their experiences and the lessons they have learned so far. 2. Is this a new program? In 1980/81 Municipal Affairs initiated an Internship Program to provide career development opportunities for suitably educated candidates wishing to enter the field of municipal management. Interns were recruited from post-secondary institutions and were assigned to qualifying municipalities through temporary contracts of one year. The program was generally well received and was successful in meeting its objective of providing real-life, practical career development opportunities. By March 1993, there were 101 interns who had entered the program, 90 had successfully completed the program, and over 75 percent of the former interns were employed in Alberta’s local government sector. This program was discontinued in 1993/94. The program was revived in 2002/03 for a pilot year. Five interns and municipalities participated. The Ministry hosted two training workshops for the interns and began developing resource materials. For 2003/04, the program was expanded to eight interns and host municipalities and there were 11 interns and 14 host municipalities in 2004/05. For 2005/06 there were ten interns and host municipalities, there were 15 interns in 16 host municipalities for 2006/07, 15 interns and 17 municipalities in 2007/08 and 15 interns in 16 municipalities in 2008/09. In the current program which started in May 2009, there are 14 interns and 15 host municipalities. 3. Who is coordinating this program? Municipal Affairs coordinates the program. The ministry’s role includes:
4. What expectations are there of the host municipality? Hosting an intern is a significant commitment requiring municipal resources in both staff time and money. This program should not be seen as a temporary employment opportunity, but rather the chance to help build the administrative strength of local government in Alberta. When thinking about whether your municipality would like to host an intern, it is important to consider the following:
Municipal Affairs has developed a Workplan and a Guidebook that will help provide guidelines for determining the activities and opportunities interns should be exposed to during the year. However, the intern and supervisor will have the flexibility to decide on the specific activities undertaken based on the needs of the municipality and the interests of the intern. Interns are expected to participate in all program related events sponsored by Municipal Affairs, such as the Orientation and Executive Week sessions. 5. What criteria will be used in selecting the host municipalities? The intent of this program is to help train an intern so that he/she may pursue a career in municipal administration. Having the opportunity to work closely with staff and council in a municipality is a valuable experience. It is important to ensure that interns gain the greatest benefit possible from their Internship. Just as interns are expected to demonstrate certain attributes, municipalities are also expected to meet certain criteria:
6. Why does the supervisor need to be the CAO or senior manager? The Internship is designed to produce well-rounded, highly-capable management candidates for Alberta’s municipalities. The ultimate aim is to ensure that Alberta has a sufficient number of skilled and qualified CAO candidates to meet future needs. The role of the intern's supervisor is primarily to act as a supervisor/mentor and provide career guidance and specific advice to the intern. The individuals best positioned to offer this advice are the municipal CAO and the senior management team. Since this program requires significant commitment from the CAO or a senior manager, it may not be suitable for all municipalities. 7. How many interns will be selected this year? For 2010/11, Municipal Affairs will be providing grants to 12 municipalities for the purposes of hosting an intern. 8. Can our municipality partner with another municipality to host an intern? Yes, more than one municipality can partner to host an intern. In fact, many interns have found partnerships valuable as they are able to explore the differences and similarities between two different organizations during their internship. You can choose a formal or informal partnership. In a formal partnership, the municipalities involved must indicate which municipality will be the one managing partner for the Internship. The managing partner will be responsible for all administrative requirements of the program and ensuring the intern completes the Internship Workplan. Only the managing partner must have a population that falls within the population range specified for the program. The managing partner is required to submit the municipal grant application on behalf of the partnering municipalities. The application should clearly outline what role each of the municipalities would play in hosting an intern. The other option that has been used in the past is to partner informally. If your municipality is selected to host an intern, you are encouraged to make arrangements for your intern to spend time with other municipalities in your area to gain a broader understanding of municipal administration. This is particularly important if your municipality does not have a specific department or function, such as a planning or human resources department. In this case, your intern could spend time in another municipality that has these departments. You do not need to submit a joint proposal with another municipality for an informal partnership, however your plans could be outlined in your application. 9. How long is the Internship for Administrators? The Internships run for 12 months, from May 2010 until April 2011. 10. How much will interns be paid during the internship? The specifics of compensation for interns will be a product of negotiation between the intern and the host municipality at the time of hiring. However, each host municipality is provided with a $43,000 grant from Municipal Affairs; $30,000 is to help cover the intern’s salary, $2,000 towards benefits, $10,000 is for intern expenses, and $1,000 is to cover supervisor's travel expenses. Up to $1,000 of the $10,000 can be used to cover the costs of recruiting an intern. The host municipality is expected to provide additional salary and cover any additional expenses as the situation warrants. The additional salary has been used in the past to attract an intern to the municipality and to help compensate a higher than average cost of living. In 2009/10, interns' salary ranged from $37,000 to $55,000. 11. What is the process for selecting the host municipalities? Should your municipality be interested in hosting an intern for 2010/11, you must submit a grant application for the Municipal Internship Program for Administrators. To be considered as a host for the 2010/11 internship, your completed documentation must be submitted to Municipal Affairs no later than 4:00 PM on September 4, 2009. The ministry will select and notify the host municipalities for 2010/11 in writing by November 2009. Municipalities selected to host an intern will be selected based on the information provided in their grant application and how it fits with with the host municipality profile. 12. May I hire the intern once the internship is over? There is no expectation that you will hire your intern at the completion of the Internship, but if you wish to approach the intern with a job offer, you may do so. 13. Succession planning is an issue in our municipality. What happens if I apply, but am not selected to host an intern this time? Since only 12 internship positions will be funded this year, it is unlikely that every municipality applying will be selected to host an intern. If for some reason your municipality is not selected as an intern host, you are encouraged to apply again in the future. The Municipal Internship Program is just one tool to help municipalities address succession planning needs. 14. Who qualifies to be an intern? To be considered for the Municipal Internship Program for Administrators, the candidates must have:
Candidates will also be assessed based upon their ability to demonstrate a variety of additional attributes that would be valuable to an individual pursuing a career in municipal management. These attributes include, but are not limited to:
It is important to remember that these qualifications will act primarily as a guide. An applicant’s entire submission package will be considered, and individual circumstances will be examined. Host municipalities will have the freedom to set additional criteria for their intern selection. 15. What degrees/programs might the interns have completed? Municipal administration is a varied enough field that many educational backgrounds can produce capable senior municipal administrators. That being said, the degrees and programs that have traditionally provided routes into municipal administration include:
16. Can I have the intern work on a special project? The Workplan is provided as the framework for the intern’s work during the year. It has been designed so that the interns are exposed to ten key aspects of municipal administration. Depending upon the nature of the special project, it may be beneficial to the intern’s experience. However, it should be only a small part of the intern’s activities during the year and should relate directly to their training and development in municipal administration. 17. We have a current employee who is interested in applying for the program. Can we interview this person? What about an interested citizen from our municipality? Currently, the intent of this program is to attract new people to the field of local government and provide an opportunity for recent graduates to enter municipal administration as a career choice. It is not the intent to have municipalities hire an individual who is already employed in local government. A municipality can not hire an individual who is currently employed by the municipality or who has worked for the municipality in the past 12 months (excluding casual or summer students). Anyone who meets the minimum recruitment criteria and has not worked for a municipality in the past 12 months is eligible to apply. Attracting and retaining qualified municipal staff is a challenging issue for most municipalities in Alberta. There are several possible solutions to address this issue and the Municipal Internship Program is just one of those solutions. The main focus of the Internship Program is attracting new people to the field of local government. Without the addition of new people into the field, there would not be enough individuals to fill the positions left vacant by those that retire. In the past seven years of the program, 79 interns have participated in the Internship Program and over 68 per cent are still working in government (58 per cent in local government and 10 per cent in the provincial and federal governments). 18. Can we hire an individual who was not short-listed for the program? If your municipality is selected to be a host a municipality, it is expected that you will interview and select an intern from the shortlist compiled by the ministry. The objective of the program is not to create a temporary employment opportunity, but rather to offer recent graduates interested in pursuing a career in local government the chance to gain valuable training experience in the field. 19. What if our municipality is too small to meet the population requirements? What if our municipality doesn't offer all ten functional areas indicated in the Workplan? More than one municipality can partner to host an intern as a formal arrangement. The municipalities involved must indicate which municipality will be the one managing partner for the internship. The one municipality will be responsible for all administrative requirements of the program and ensuring the intern completes the internship Workplan. Only the managing partner must have a population that falls within the population range specified for the program. The managing partner is required to submit the municipal grant application on behalf of the partnering municipalities. The application should clearly outline what role each of the municipalities would play in hosting an intern. The other option that has been used in the past is to partner informally. If your municipality is selected to host an intern, you are encouraged to make arrangements for your intern to spend time with other municipalities in your area to gain a broader understanding of municipal administration. This is particularly important if your municipality does not have a specific department or function, such as a planning or human resources department. In this case, your intern could spend time in another municipality that has these departments. You do not need to submit a joint proposal with another municipality for an informal partnership, however your plans could be outlined in your application. 20. How many times can I host an intern? There are no restrictions. Each year you can continue to apply to host an intern. 21. Can I apply to host an intern in both the Administrator and Land Use Planning programs? You may apply to both programs (which requires separate applications), but you will not be selected to host a new intern in both programs in the same year. If you apply to both programs, each of your applications will be evaluated against the other applicants for that program only. The selection process for both programs will be completed at the same time. It is expected that upon successful completion of the program, interns will be better prepared to enter the municipal administrative field in Alberta's municipalities. However, it is not the expectation of the program to have interns progress immediately into a chief administrative officer (CAO) role. It is unreasonable to expect an intern, even after one year of intensive hands-on experience, to be able to manage the operation of a municipality. Learning to become a CAO takes many years. The objective of the Internship Program is to assist in the training and development of competent, well-rounded future senior municipal administrators. Although the internship program only provides one-year of training, the program provides interns with the essential tools and knowledge to continue their management development after the internship is complete. It is hoped that at some point in their future, interns will choose to enter a senior administrative role and some may wish to become a CAO when they are ready. |
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