National Veterans Employment Strategy

Share National Veterans Employment Strategy on Facebook Share National Veterans Employment Strategy on Twitter Share National Veterans Employment Strategy on Linkedin Email National Veterans Employment Strategy link
Forest with white cap mountains behind it


Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) would like to thank the more than 1,000 participants who took part in our Let’s Talk Veterans consultation on a Veteran Employment Strategy.


Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) would like to thank the more than 1,000 participants who took part in our Let’s Talk Veterans consultation on a Veteran Employment Strategy.

  • Background

    Share Background on Facebook Share Background on Twitter Share Background on Linkedin Email Background link

    Every year, thousands of Regular and Reserve Forces members transition from the military without guidance on how to find employment in the private and public sectors. During their military service, members develop unique skills from first-class training and experiences that make them vital assets to the civilian workforce. VAC is working on a strategy to connect Veterans and employers to leverage these skills resulting in finding meaningful employment after service.

    To help develop the National Veterans Employment Strategy, we consulted with members of the Veteran and employer community from 19 September to 31 October 2022.

    VAC promoted the consultation on all social media channels, My VAC Account, via email, and in the Salute! newsletter to help us reach as many Veterans and stakeholders as possible.

  • We asked

    Share We asked on Facebook Share We asked on Twitter Share We asked on Linkedin Email We asked link

    Through 21 questions (including six open-ended ones), we asked respondents to share their thoughts on Veteran employment. Questions focused on the following topics:

    • Demographics
    • Expectations for employment
    • Barriers encountered while job searching
    • Ways to reduce barriers
    • Types of support needed
  • You said

    Share You said on Facebook Share You said on Twitter Share You said on Linkedin Email You said link

    From the 1,016 people participated in the consultation, we received 945 submissions in English and 71 in French.

    Key takeaways

    • While some Veterans transition to civilian work right away, others feel they aren’t given enough time to be ready to enter civilian workplaces. In that latter case, they may be excluded from resources because they do not meet time-related eligibility criteria.
    • Some Veterans want to do work that is new and unrelated to their military experience. Others would like to do similar work, but are frustrated that their military occupations don’t translate well into civilian work, and want civilian equivalencies to be easier to obtain.
    • Many Veterans feel they are seen as either too young to obtain senior positions, or too old for companies to be interested in hiring them.
  • Next Steps

    Share Next Steps on Facebook Share Next Steps on Twitter Share Next Steps on Linkedin Email Next Steps link

    In the winter of 2022-23, we will publish a final report on the VAC website.

    The data we collected from this consultation will be used to guide and develop the National Veterans Employment Strategy, as well as other initiatives at VAC and the Government of Canada.

    The department and the Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs will continue working together with stakeholders and Veterans to further identify barriers and solutions to dismantle them.

Page last updated: 03 Jul 2024, 11:04 AM