CERIC’s new bilingual guides for Canadian career professionals working with veterans will launch at the Cannexus16 National Career Development Conference on Monday, January 25 in Ottawa. Military to Civilian Employment: A Career Practitioner’s Guide focuses on the unique needs of transitioning veterans into civilian careers.

Each year in Canada, approximately 5,000 new highly skilled veterans enter the job market but many have a difficult time transitioning, despite bringing valuable skills and experiences to potential employers. Challenges include: identifying new career directions, employers not understanding military culture, and determining civilian equivalencies.

CERIC has partnered with Canada Company, a non-profit organization exclusively supporting the military, to create the guides, which have been researched and authored by career development expert Yvonne Rodney. The Canadian Armed Forces, Veterans Affairs Canada, Military Family Services, military-friendly employers and front-line career professionals all contributed. Knowledge Champions also supported the development of the guides and helped make possible their publication.

The guides will educate career professionals as well as employers about military life and the transferable skills that Canadian forces members can offer. They also provide effective interventions for helping veterans move to civilian employment. Chapters cover:

• Chapter 1 – Understanding the Needs
• Chapter 2 – Understanding Military Culture
• Chapter 3 – The Big Picture: Veterans Face Unique Challenges
• Chapter 4 – Employment and Employability: Tools, Services and Jobs
• Chapter 5 – Enhancing Coping and Adaptation: Strategies and Support Networks
• Chapter 6 – The Education/Qualification Conundrum
• Chapter 7 – Career Needs of Military Spouses
• Chapter 8 – Services, Programs and Resources

View the full Table of Contents.

The launch of the guides at Cannexus will occur during the Wine & Cheese reception, starting at 5:00 pm with a military marching band and several special guests. All Cannexus delegates will receive a complimentary copy of the guide in English or French.

After the conference, the guides will be available for purchase in print or ebook (via Amazon and Chapters/Indigo) and can also be downloaded as a free pdf at www.ceric.ca/military.