Ontario launching new program to help veterans find work

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Published November 11, 2019 at 11:44 pm

The Ontario government has launched a pilot project intended to help veterans find work upon returning to civilian life. 

The Ontario government has launched a pilot project intended to help veterans find work upon returning to civilian life. 

Elevate Plus – Military will teach former members of the Canadian Armed Forces soft, people-related skills such as conflict resolution and business etiquette, as well as hard skills that will be directly relevant to certain jobs. 

It will also provide veterans with paid job placements. 

Every year, an average of nearly 4,000 members of the Armed Forces–3,850–leave to take up a job in another field in Ontario, and the average age for veterans upon release from service is 38.5. 

“Armed Forces members generally exit the service at an age where they have many years of work ahead of them,” Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, said in a news release. 

“But the transition to civilian life is a dramatic one. It often requires people to learn new skills to help them find potential employers, succeed in an interview and then excel in a new work environment,” he continued. 

The project is a collaboration between the province, Quinte Economic Development Commission, and Loyalist College. So far, the province has pledged to provide $834,900 in funding towards the project. 

“We hope this pilot will serve as a model we can roll out across the province,” McNaughton added.

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