OTTAWA — The wait has been long, but a 60-year-old retiree is happy to know that she was the successful candidate in a federal government job competition for which she first applied in 1985.

Sherry Collins of Ottawa received a Letter of Offer yesterday for a permanent typist position with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, formerly known as Human Resources Development Canada, which was referred to at the time as the Department of Labour.

The experienced and university educated candidate originally applied and successfully passed the required tests and interviews. “First, I was told that the successful candidates would be informed within a week,” explained Collins who recently retired as a not-for-profit executive. “But then we were told that there was a delay in receiving references and security clearance.”

After a few weeks attempting to obtain the proper paperwork for a security clearance, the individual responsible for hiring went on maternity leave and management decided not to backfill the position until she returned. However, when she returned, she was immediately placed on leave for second language training and a colleague had lost the paperwork.

In 1994 when the paperwork was rediscovered, Collins was nearly hired. However, budget cuts were announced by the Chretien government placing a severe restriction on a recruitment budget further delaying the process. Throughout the early 2000s, the positions were placed on hold due to a realignment within the department’s strategic plan.

While Collins was waiting for over three decades, she earned a PhD in Art History, got married, had three children, divorced, remarried and worked 12 other jobs before retiring.

“We contacted Ms. Collins after determining that the remaining candidates in the candidate pool were dead,” explained a representative from HRSDC. “We’re happy to welcome Ms Collins as the sole survivor!”

According to sources, Central Pay Services was unable to process the Letter of Offer due to the unusual circumstance of receiving a task on a weekday.