Military have more job opportunities after serving, thanks to new policy

It is now a bit easier for Canadian Armed Forces members, both regular and reserve to find jobs after their service.

Military reservists now quality for commercial driver’s licences, thanks to the government recognizing their unique training involving commercial vehicles. The announcement came on Tuesday, January 22.

“Alberta’s recognition of military driving qualifications is an excellent opportunity for Reservists to advance their civilian careers without the financial and time burden of additional testing,” said Maj. Charmaine Berestovy, deputy commanding officer, 41 Service Battalion, 41 Canadian Brigade Group.

The DND’s training and testing requirements for serving members and veterans to operate commercial vehicles without more testing has been recognized by Alberta since June 2015. However, military veterans could not transfer their credentials when they left their military career.

Alberta Transportation expanded the current policy in November 2018 to include Reservists under this agreement.

“This agreement serves Regular and Reserve members, including veterans, in their current and future careers. These highly skilled men and women can save time and money on training and testing and take advantage of new job opportunities as they retire from the Canadian Armed Forces and transition to new careers.,” said transportation minister, Brian Mason.

Did you know?

• As of December 17, 2018, there have been 803 DND applications processed since the DND training and testing recognition agreement signing in 2015.
• Roughly 15 per cent of applicants were eligible for an Alberta Class 1 or 2 drivers licence upgrade, while 65 per cent were eligible for class 3.

Photo supplied: left to right, Maj. Charmaine Berestovy, MLA Nicole Goehring, MLA Colin Piquette, Carolyn Patton and Chris Nash.