WINDSOR, ONT. -- Turning veterans into software and cyber-security professionals, the Coding For Veterans Career Caravan stopped in Ottawa Monday and met with Windsor West MP Brian Masse.
The caravan has started its mission to bring Canada’s troops from “deployment to employment” offerings veterans the skills and experiences for second careers in tech.
“This program is unique, and established, and one that we should be promoting to our local veterans who are interested and looking for new career opportunities following their leave from the services,” Masse said in a news release. “I support any actions to help our local veterans obtain career skills and continue bettering their lives and those of Canadians.”
“I look forward to bringing the CFV information to our community and encourage any interested Windsor veterans to contact me, or the program directly, for more information.”
The Caravan allows veterans to secure in-person career advice while adhering to COVID-19 public health safety measures.
“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,” says Jeff Musson, CEO of Coding For Veterans.
Coding For Veterans is an 8-month intensive course offered in partnership with the Universiy of Ottawa that offers graduating military veterans with “job-ready training and certification.”
“We are providing the military veterans with the tools required for a career in IT,” said CFV Executive Director Pat Shaw. “We have tech companies, defence contractors, and government agencies interested in filling their talent requirements with graduates from our program, while at the same time, our program provides military veterans with a solid career to gain stable, long-term employment.”
Each year, about 7,000 people leave the Canadian Forces and are often perceived as only having training for security work or policing, the news release says. But CVV has done research that shows military personnel are “especially suited to software and cybersecurity work.”
While COVID-19 restrictions have taken a toll on job fairs many leaving the military depend on, CVF plans to fill that gap by offering “tremendous return” for applicants who pass the onboarding assessment process and graduate from the program.
Coding For Veterans is delivered entirely online. More information on the program is available on the CFV website.
