Coding for Veterans Seeking New Recruits

The Coding For Veterans Career Caravan hit the halfway point of its cross Canada recruitment tour last week.

On a mission to bring Canada’s veterans, spouses, military family members and Afghan interpreters tech jobs in the face of COVID-19, the Coding for Veterans (C4V) Caravan will be travelling throughout Ontario for the next month.

According to an Ontario press release, the caravan will be visiting CFB North Bay, CFB Petawawa, Toronto, Meaford, London, Kitchener, Hamilton, Niagara, Peterborough, CFB Trenton, CFB Kingston and Ottawa.

Applying Veteran’s Skills

The goal of the Coding for Veterans program is to apply the skills and experiences of veterans by retraining them for civilian careers as software and cyber-security professionals.

“They served us all with dedication and sacrifice during their military career and now we are providing them an opportunity to help fill the urgent skills-shortage in the IT sector, which is causing a critical drag on the Canadian economy,” Jeff Musson, Executive Director of Coding For Veterans stated. “Veterans feel they can still serve our country, but their duty has now moved from the battlefield to cyberspace.”

Training for Civilian Careers

Veterans will have to opportunity to receive in-person career advice since the Coding For Veterans program accommodates COVID-19 restrictions. Offered in partnership with the University of Ottawa, Coding For Veterans is an intensive eight-month online program that provides graduating military veterans with training and certification in software development and cyber security. Tuition for the program is fully covered by Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) for any Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) veteran who qualifies.

“We are providing the military veterans with the tools required for a career in IT,” informed C4V Academic Director Pat Shaw. “We have tech companies and government agencies interested in filling their tech talent pipeline with graduates from our program, while at the same time, our program provides military veterans with a solid career in which to gain stable, long-term employment.”

A veteran’s skill set usually is only seen as beneficial for careers in security or policing, an Ontario press release informed. However, C4V has done a lot of research to determine Canada’s military personnel are fit for software and cyber security work.

In-Person Job Fairs Needed

Many members who are leaving the military depend on in-person job fairs to move into a second career. Unfortunately, COVID-19 restrictions have impaired in-person job fairs, making it hard for this community to transition into civilian life and find decent jobs.

“The pandemic has led to a doubling of enrollment as the demand for IT jobs continues to grow due to the pandemic,” said Jeff Musson, CEO of Coding For Veterans. “Covid-19 has pulled the workforce years into the future. Companies are opening jobs to veterans and ready to hire no matter where they live. The program is delivered online, and they can continue to work remotely.”

The Coding For Veterans Career Caravan tour will visit most major military installations and training centres in Canada. On November 11, it will make its final stop in Ottawa.

The tour schedule goes as follows:

• • • Oct 18th-19th, CFB North Bay
    • Oct 20th-21st, CFB Petawawa
    • Oct 22nd, Toronto (Formerly CFB Downsview)
    • Oct 25th, Meaford
    • Oct 26th, Kitchener
    • Oct 27th, London
    • Oct 28th, Hamilton
    • Oct 29th, Niagara Region
    • Nov 1st, Peterborough
    • Nov 2nd-3rd, CFB Trenton
    • Nov 4th-5th, CFB Kingston
    • Nov 10th-11th, Ottawa

For more information on the tour, and Coding For Veterans, visit here.