M E M B E R S P O T L I G H T
Forces@WORK is open to virtually
any business interested in participating.
The program assists employers with a
number of different initiatives, includ-ing
military cultural awareness training
and even helps organize mini career
fairs where they can meet one-on-one
with prospective employees.
Blackburn, who twice used Forces@
WORK after his retirement from ser-vice
in 2011 before joining its parent
organization in 2016, says it’s been rela-tively
easy to get employers to buy into
the program.
“Employers want to attract the best
and the brightest qualified candidates
– exactly who transitioning military
members are. They are at the high end
of the labour market, deemed to be
highly skilled, most of whom, includ-ing
the lowest ranked members, pos-sess
tremendous leadership skills and
an inherent appreciation for safety,” he
said. “For a lot of employers, this is still
largely an untapped labour market. It’s
a highly-skilled labour pool that’s full of
people who are in possession of a set of
characteristics and qualities that make
them great employees.
“Employers should be looking at
every resume that a military member
submits because they’re really hidden
gems. If you can sign them, you’ll have
them for a career versus just a couple
of weeks or months. They bring loyalty,
they bring dedication, they bring time
management and discipline. And those
are all things we hear from the con-struction
industry that you can’t always
get (somewhere else).”
The focus of Forces@WORK has
evolved over the years. Initially, it was
set up as a trial project for medically
released Army reservists in Calgary and
was subsequently expanded to include
Edmonton. It’s since grown by leaps and
bounds and is now open to all Canadian
Armed Forces personnel including all
veterans, reservists and family members
(spouses and youth between the ages of
15 and 25 years).
Despite the program’s success, it
hasn’t been without its challenges.
Although it does at present receive
some funding through Veterans Affairs
Canada and the Support Our Troops
program, Prospect has had to rely large-ly
on its own fundraising efforts to help
cover most of the costs of programming.
Still, Blackburn is optimistic about
Forces@WORK’s future. It’s looking
to secure federal government fund-ing
that would enable it to expand
to the rest of Western Canada and
as far east as Thunder Bay, Ont., and
possibly nationally. n
For more information about Forces@
WORK or how to make a donation to the
program visit service@forcesatwork.ca or
call 1-855-712-2184.
Photo courtesy of Forces@Work
ALBERTA HEAVY Quarter 2 2020 19
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