Veterans Affairs Committee on Feb. 9th, 2012

[Carol Hurst]

But essentially the suitability is based on their goals. So they determine what is suitable for them. We just guide them through a system of achieving their goals.

[Bill Foster]

This is one of the objectives. It's not--as some individuals perceive--based on getting the same salary that they had in the Canadian Forces. It could be someone who has been a senior officer and decides he doesn't want to do senior executive work any more and would like to do part-time consulting. So when we mention “aspirations”, it's understood that they may aspire to do less. Some people may aspire to do more.

I don't know if that gives you any additional clarity. We certainly work closely with people. We build a plan with them, similar to what CanVet does. They create what's called a career transition plan and then they implement that plan. It's based on their needs, on their goals.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

That's exactly the assurance I'm looking for. I'm looking to make sure that this is driven by the vets and that the final outcome is what the vet was looking for.

How do you measure your successes?

[Carol Hurst]

Bill mentioned some of the critical performance measures we're judged by. But as to some of the specifics, I can go through some numbers for you.

With respect to VAC performance standards and client satisfaction, at least 80% of clients who access CTS will report that their knowledge has increased in résumé writing, interview techniques, conducting job searches, labour market information, self-marketing, and job-finding.

Based on available data and client outcomes, we're averaging 91% satisfaction and performance against that metric. When we look at the effectiveness of the workshops, it's the same thing. We're averaging about 99% effectiveness.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Just getting back to the veteran's final outcome, what ability do you have to match veterans to civilian careers? What we've been hearing a lot from our veterans during our travels is that they are having some difficulty in finding civilian careers. They very much enjoyed the work they did in the Canadian Forces, leading their peers, and the transition is a difficult one. Perhaps you could speak to your ability to match them to civilian careers.

[Bill Foster]

I could speak on that. I need a little clarification from you as well. If there is a particular type of veteran, I can tell you some of their challenges. If you're talking with someone who might have a combat arms background, or someone who has an engineering background.... Were there any groups you were hearing from that were particularly concerned?

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

We've had a few. I suppose the one that was one of the most compelling.... I believe his rank was sergeant and he had served in the artillery, and he was very passionate.

[Bill Foster]

A lot of combat arms individuals--and I think Tricia can speak to this as well--do struggle initially because they don't see something that's the equivalent on the outside in the civilian world. I think where we come across as counsellors, our role is to help them understand what is out there in the civilian world in terms of options. We can certainly provide them with some psychometric assessments if they're really struggling with what it is they might like to do.

We're also seeing folks who, if after a little bit of counselling and coaching they do get a sense that there is something on the civilian side that they could do, then learn how to market themselves based on the skills they've amassed over the years within the military. Sometimes it's just a little bit of additional information and a lot of assistance around how to market yourself to the civilian world. It's not necessarily that they have to completely reinvent themselves.

For example, we've had folks who were in the artillery, and were able to--and I'm going to use the military word, remuster--reinvent themselves using those skills from the artillery. A lot of them have mathematical skills, the ability to talk about parabolas, etc. In a surveying type of role, that's really quite exceptional, so some of them have pursued those types of positions.

It's not a fait accompli that if you have a combat arms background there isn't an opportunity for you in the civilian world. It just takes a little additional work: your assessment piece or getting a better sense of what types of careers are out there in the civilian world.

Does that answer your question?

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Thank you very much, Mr. Foster.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

I've got a question for Ken, but am I out of time?

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Yes.

[Bill Foster]

Sorry about that lengthy answer.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

We'll go to Ms. Mathyssen for five minutes.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair

Thank you very much for the information you've provided--and more importantly, for what you do. I think it's quite remarkable. I certainly appreciate it. I know we all do.

I had a couple of questions. You indicated in your brief that your role is to support the veteran, and in order to do that you consult occupational therapists, psychiatrists, and psychologists, and try to match up the veteran with the right kind of job. I wondered, with some of the medically discharged individuals—and certainly some of them would be very fragile emotionally and physically—do you also work with the employers to assist in the transition to the job?

[Tricia Gueulette]

Absolutely. That's part of the post-employment support that we provide, not only transitioning with the employer, but also for the employee at that work site, so making sure that ergonomically they can do their jobs. We have to be careful, because we have to get permission from the veteran, and not every veteran is willing to disclose. It's something we're always balancing, but we do work very closely with employers, yes.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

What is the usual time that comes between when someone is referred to you and them finding a job? Is it a matter of weeks, months, or can it be extended?

[Tricia Gueulette]

I can speak for CanVet and say that it really is very individualized. It depends on the current condition of the veteran, what their medical issues might be. Also, some of them are going back to school with us, so they might be in school for a year or so, but after they finish their training we get them employed usually within three to four months.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

I know that you have a significant number of people working with you, and I wondered, of all of those folks working for WCG and Right Management, are there any former military people among your employees?

[Tricia Gueulette]

There are, yes. We have ex-military across the country, yes.

[Bill Foster]

It's the same with us.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

I'm sure that adds an extra, positive dimension to what you do.

I was very interested in the job fairs. You talked about job fairs, I think, Mr. Foster. Could you describe them to me? You also talked about job-offer evaluations. Could you explain what that entails? I thought that was very interesting.

[Bill Foster]

There are two ways job fairs enter the situation.

First, dozens of job fairs occur across the country on a weekly basis. We have a staff person who reports to me and informs the counsellors and the clients of upcoming career fairs in the areas where they are currently working. The key thing is that it's more of an information dissemination piece.

Second, we've also had, in various Right Management offices across Canada, a number of career fairs, and we continue to have them. Our civilian clients and our CTS clients—I say civilian clients, because that's the only term I can come up with—meet at our Right Management offices. We may have one employer. We may have a dozen employers. Sometimes it's a mixture of employers and recruiters. Our counsellors coach individuals on how to put together a résumé, how to come to a career fair, and how to speak to an employer. Sometimes at career fairs they network with the individual who's representing the company, or they may even do interviews. We've had that happen many times in Right Management and with CTS. It's a very effective way of doing things.

In terms of the job-offer evaluation, that happens when we're working with someone, and they'll say to us—it's a glorious time when it happens—“I have a job, but I have this job offer. Can you help me?” What we try to do with individuals is maximize their compensation. If the individual wants to bring the offer to us, we can coach him or her on various aspects of the job offer. It's very alien to say to military folks, “By the way, did you know that you can negotiate your vacation? Did you know that you can negotiate your bonus?” “I get a bonus?” they say. “Yes, if you're working in the private sector, you get a bonus.”

I don't mind saying that over the years we have had a pretty good track record, as most coaches do, I think, who work with people, of taking that initial offer and maybe increasing it by 10% to 20%.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

That's impressive.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Thank you very much, Mr. Foster.

[Bill Foster]

I should say, for clarity, that we coach them on how to negotiate. It's not us doing it for them.

Sorry about that, Mr. Chairman.