What They Do
Resource Management Support Clerks (RMS Clk) provide administrative and financial support to all military activities. This career field is one of the largest in the military. Consequently, it offers a wide scope of employment opportunities in a variety of environments.
- Human resource administration and services
- Financial management support services
- Personnel support services
- Corporate and general purpose administration
Qualification Requirements
Applicants must possess a high school or college diploma. RMS Clks must be responsible, tactful, discreet, mentally alert, and possess a good memory. They must be capable of accurately performing repetitive clerical and financial tasks and, in the early stages of their career, be willing to work long hours to meet deadlines. RMS CLKs should be interested in dealing with the public; therefore, excellent interpersonal and communication skills are required. This occupation also involves working with numbers, drafting correspondence, and operating computers and other office equipment. Resource Management Support clerks must be attentive to detail and work in an organized manner. Reliability, honesty, and an ability to adapt to a variety of locations, conditions and management systems are also necessary attributes. Critical thinking skills are particularly important in the higher rank levels where RMS Clks perform management functions and are often responsible for supervising and managing large groups of people.
Initial Employment
Resource Management Support Clerks are employed at all Canadian Forces bases in Canada and overseas. Depending on service requirement, RMS Clks will be posted to English and French Bases, throughout all 3 environments, land (Army), sea (Navy), and air (Air Force). An RMS Clk’s initial posting will normally be with the environment that was selected at time of enrollment, however, subsequent postings may be with any environment. If you are married to someone who is in the Regular Force, it is important that you select the same uniform as your spouse so that you may be posted to the same environment. For example, the enviro-centric model is fully utilized by this occupation in the early stages of the career. As an example, if you are issued a Navy uniform, you can expect to serve an initial tour of 6 to 8 years (minimum) on either coast (Esquimalt, B.C. or Halifax, N.S.). Following an initial posting to an operational unit (ship, combat arms unit, or air force base), a wider scope of employment opportunities is available.
RMS Clks may also be employed in support of medical organizations, recruiting offices, CF schools, Reserve units, NATO/UN positions, Joint Task Force 2, Security/Military Police sections, Area Judge Advocate General Offices, personnel selection, information system (IS) services, career management, training, and base financial counselling. Special opportunities exist for selected individuals to serve at embassy locations in countries where Canada has a military attaché.
Specialty Training
Those who demonstrate the required ability and ambition may undertake advanced occupational 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 Military Occupation Courses
- Budgeting and Business Planning
- Civilian Personnel Management
- Personnel Management
Speciality Training Courses
- Public Fund Cashier Functions
- Financial Accounting and Audit
- Release Clerk
- RMS Deployed Operations
- Non-Public Funds Accounting
- Court Reporter
Working Environment
RMS Clks must be available for unrestricted postings as they encounter a wide variety of working and environmental conditions. When employed with army field units, they will experience operational living and working conditions and the same hazards as combat troops. On board ships, in addition to their primary occupational duties, RMS CLKs must stand duty watches and participate in damage control, ship cleaning and maintenance duties.
Appropriate training, environmental clothing and equipment are provided, and Resource Management Support Clerks’ health, safety and morale are closely monitored.
Related Civilian Occupations
- General Office Clerk
- Personnel Clerk
- Bookkeeper
- Records and File Clerk
- Data Entry Clerk
- Accounting Clerk
- Payroll Clerk
- Banking and Insurance Clerk
- Administrative/Financial Clerk
- Customer Service, Information Clerk
- Business Services Manager
- Personnel and Recruitment Officer
- Library Clerk
- Ticket and Cargo Agent
- Office Manager
- Human Resource Manager
- Staff Officers
Basic Military Qualification
The first stage of training for a successful applicant is a 13-week Basic Military Qualification (BMQ) course held at the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School, 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:
- Contribute as a Member of a Military Team
- Canadian Forces Regulations and Orders
- Operate the Service Rifle
- Physical Fitness Proficiency
- Drill
- First Aid
- Operate in a Field Environment
- Participate in Force Protection
- Operate in a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and, Nuclear Environment
- Maintain a Safe Working Environment
- Communicate Verbally and Writing
- Canadian domestic and International Military Relationships
- History, heritage and traditions of the profession of Arms in Canada
- CF Personnel Well-Being Programmes and Initiative
- Personnel Management and Administrative procedure
Basic Military Occupational Training
On completion of BMQ, Resource Management Support Clerks attend Basic Military Occupational (MOC) Training at the Canadian Forces School of Administration and Logistics (CFSAL) in Borden, Ont. Training takes approximately 11 weeks and includes:
- Fundamentals of a central registry
- Fundamentals of military writing
- Familiarization with military publications
- Administration in support of operations
- Fundamentals of Financial Management Accounting Systems (FMAS)
- Fundamentals of a pay system and basic accounting
- Fundamentals of personnel records
- Fundamentals of claims processing
- Fundamentals of personnel management
- Fundamentals of release processing
- Operation of automated personnel and financial systems (pay and cashier)
- Keyboarding skills (30 words per minute, less than 2% error rate)
- Computer fundamentals
