Overview
You will provide members of the military with a full range of postal services at Canadian Forces bases and establishments. You will perform all mail handling duties related to the receipt, dispatch and delivery of mail, and operate a postal financial counter in accordance with Canada Post regulations and directives.
What They Do
Postal Clerks (POST CLKs) provide members of the military and, under some circumstances, their dependants, with a full range of postal services at Canadian Forces bases and establishments.
- Perform all mail handling duties related to the receipt, dispatch and delivery of mail
- Operate a postal tracing service
- Maintain the security of mail and of post office premises as well as the security of cash, postal valuables and sensitive equipment
- Prepare and distribute bills of lading for international and domestic mail dispatched by road, rail, sea and air
- Operate a postal financial counter in accordance with Canada Post regulations and directives
- Conduct financial accounting and audit duties at military post offices
- Type routine correspondence, forms and documents
- Operate office equipment including calculators, photocopiers, computers and postage meters
Specialty Training
Personnel who demonstrate the required ability and ambition will undertake advanced occupation training through formal courses or on-the-job training as they progress in their careers. Specialty training may also be available. Below are examples of training related to this occupation.
Advanced Training Courses
- Personnel Management
- Postal Administration
Specialty Training Courses
- Financial Accounting and Audit
- Instructional Techniques
Working Environment
Postal Clerks serve with the land, sea and air elements of the Canadian Forces in Canada and abroad. Their working environment, while normally a comfortable building on a base, may also be a ship at sea, a tent under operational field conditions, or a mobile postal van. Their duties require long periods of standing and they must also be able to lift and move heavy postal items. Appropriate training, environmental clothing and equipment are provided, and Postal Clerks’ health, safety and morale are closely monitored.
Basic Military Qualification
The first stage of training for everyone is the 13-week Basic Military Qualification (BMQ) course at the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. This training provides the basic core skills and knowledge common to all trades. A goal of this course is to ensure that all recruits maintain the CF physical fitness standard, as a result, the training is physically demanding. BMQ covers the following topics:
- Policies and regulations of the Canadian Forces;
- CF drill, dress and deportment (the “three D’s”);
- Basic safety;
- First aid;
- Personal survival in nuclear, biological and chemical conditions;
- Handling and firing personal weapons;
- Cross-country navigation; and
- Personal survival in field conditions.
Basic Military Occupational Training
On completion of the BMQ, Postal Clerks attend Basic Military Occupational (MOC) Training at the Canadian Forces Postal Unit (CFPU) in Trenton, Ontario. MOC training takes approximately 6 weeks and teaches the following basic skills:
- Receipt, handling, sorting, redirecting, delivering, and dispatching of all classes of mail
- Safeguarding mail, recognizing and reporting mail irregularities
- Interpretation of postal Law and Regulations
- Repair of damaged mail
- Care and maintenance of postal equipment
- Typing, filing and office procedures
- Use and amendment of publications
