Revamped guide helps former veterans transition careers after military service

Paul Szabunio helped co-create the guide alongside non-profit charity CERIC.

The Invictus Games might have now wrapped up in Vancouver, but the message, of building understanding and respect for the wounded, injured, and sick service members in recovery, lives on, particularly for the organizations working to help veterans return to civilian life after service.

With over 450,000 veterans in Canada, and more than 8,000 military members that are transitioning out of service annually, there’s a ”huge demand” for support for veterans, says Candy Ho, a board member of career-development-focused, charitable organization CERIC.

Last month the non-profit launched an update to its Military to Civilian Employment Guide, a free handbook, available to download online, designed to assist veterans and employers navigate their transition to fulfilling civilian careers after service.

It was created to help veterans better understand that the new-found skills and experience gained during service are assets that can be utilized for a second career or further education, and for employers, in turn, to recognize that veterans are more skilled than they may have presumed.

A main driving force of the guidebook is to dismantle the misconceptions that are commonly linked to former veterans, says Ho.

“It is a common misconception that veterans have difficulty integrating into the civilian workforce. It is a myth that veterans only bring combat skills to the table, because they have so much expertise in so many different areas, like logistics, IT, project management, and healthcare,” she says.

There are often fears among employers that veterans struggle with adaptability, but in reality, it is “quite the opposite,” Ho adds.

“Military training only enhances flexibility and quick thinking, because their situations and circumstances change so often.”

Paul Szabunio, a strategic liaison officer working with the Canadian Armed Forces Transition Group, says many of the false narratives surrounding former servicemen and women are only fuelled further by Hollywood movies and TV shows - particularly the notion that all former veterans are “broken” or suffering some form of PTSD.

Szabunio felt compelled to assist in putting together the guidebook after his own experience attempting to assimilate into civilian life post-service. During his work with peacekeeping operations, Szabunio progressed quickly to senior-level responsibilities, making “life and death decisions on the fly,” working in human relations and navigating complex systems.

He had embarked on his military service with an engineering degree already on his resume, but when he returned, he found no engineering employer would take him, despite his unique skills gained from service.

“They were all expecting microcredentials, and they weren’t willing to scrape below the surface and say, what is the human being that’s here? What can that person deliver, in terms of value to my organization?” he said.

“This is about really getting employers to realize that they’ve got people who are responsible, dependable, can act independently, can think for themselves, analyze, work with complex issues, and get results, which is exactly what a business wants.”

As employers gain a better understanding of the assets that former veterans can be in the workplace, Szabunio says he hopes the public are able to shift their perceptions, too.

“I think this should really encourage the Canadian community at large to reach out to those they see in the military, reach out to those who are veterans, and ask them about their service and what they have done with their lives outside of that uniform,” he says.