November 30, 2018 – Toronto, ON – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

Today, the Canadian Forces Morale & Welfare Services launched the new Military Spousal Employment Network. The event was hosted by BMO, one of the founding employment partners of the Network with a long history of supporting national defence efforts.

The Military Spousal Employment Network is made up of over a dozen national employers who have a footprint across multiple communities in Canada and/or virtual employment opportunities that may appeal to military spouses of currently serving members. The Network makes use of a self-directed online resource where military spouses can directly access employers and their employment opportunities. Some of the tools available include an online job board and virtual career fairs with participating employers located in multiple locations across Canada.

This complements the Military Spouse Employment Initiative which was recently launched by the Department of National Defence (DND). The first phase of this initiative offers a casual inventory that is open exclusively to civilian spouses and common-law partners of serving Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members who have relocated within Canada. With over 600 applicants to date, this initiative gives military spouses and partners an opportunity to attain meaningful casual employment at DND and hiring managers a valuable pool of candidates to hire depending on the needs of their organization. Spouses or common-law partners of a CAF member who is either on the Regular Force or the Reserve Force on Class B or Class C service (for more than 180 consecutive days), are eligible to apply to the casual inventory online.

Finding and retaining employment has been an ongoing challenge for military spouses for a variety of reasons. Frequent relocations and recurring and prolonged absences from home of the serving member makes it challenging for military spouses to secure continuous and meaningful employment as they move and assume more responsibility at home while the member is away.

Military Family Services, a division of Canadian Forces Morale & Welfare Services, manages a variety of employment and entrepreneur programs that supports the wellbeing of Canadian military families. These programs are also available at Military Family Resource Centres across bases and wings.