1. Military Employment Transition Spouse Program METSpouse1

2. Agenda Military spouse demographics Military family realities
Military Employment Transition Spouse Program
Program criteria
Benefits of the program

3. Military Spouses in Canada
61,500+ military spouses are located across Canada in every province and territory, from metropolitan areas to remote towns.
Study completed by MFS/DGMPA 2014
Highest concentration being in Ontario, QC and NS
16.4% of CFMWS workforce is spouses -- ~700 spouses
* Map represents approximate military spouse populations. Please note 9,200 spouses are
not included in the provincial numbers.

4. How would we describe the military spouse population?

5. Diverse 67% are between the ages of 25-44 13% are male
Age of CAF Spouses
67% are between the ages of 25-44
13% are male
77% report English as their first language
23% report French as their first language
82% live off base in civilian homes
64% are the spouse of a Regular Force member
36% are the spouse of a Reservist
By reviewing a lot of self reporting surveys and statistics from DGMPRA research, we have determined a few key characteristics that can be used to describe the military spouse population.
First = the military spouse population is Diverse
As you can see, large majority of military spouses are in their prime working years
Not surprising, 77% of spouses are female.
We don’t have the number of bilingual spouses, but we do know that Anglophone families are often posted to French (only) communities and vice versa which creates excellent opportunities for spouses to improve and or learn their second language. MFRCs provide basic and intermediate second language training for families as well.
Important to note the number of reservist spouses vs. Reg force – reservist families most often experience much less mobility than reg force, fortunately this relieves some of the employment challenges experienced by the spouse. 5

6. Reported CAF Spousal Education
Educated & Skilled
Reported CAF Spousal Education
Secondly – the military spouse population is very educated and skilled.
Education levels are on par if not slightly higher than the average Canadian labour force. According to statistics Canada, approximately 50% of Canadians age have ps education. Not taking into account variable factors such as age and region, spouses have a higher education level.
Military spouses are currently employed in a variety of professions and industries.
62.14% have a post-secondary
diploma or degree.
Military spouses represent a variety of industries and professions 6

7. Motivated Military Spouse Top Motivations for Employment
Recent research found that there is an “infusion of a ‘can do’ spirit in overcoming obstacles and impediments among many non-serving partners…” CF Ombudsman Report
Military Spouse Top Motivations for Employment
Pay bills and cover expenses
Achieve personal fulfilment
Maintain skills and career status
Gain independence
Thirdly – military spouses on a whole are highly motivated individuals.
Despite the obstacles that come with being in a military family, spouses are motivated and are finding work. Their employment rate mirrors our national average and spouses are frequently looking to find employment that better matches their strengths, skill set and education.
72.9% employed according to 2014 volunteer survey Quality of Life Survey Presentation (NOT FOR DISSEMINATION) MFS is determined to decrease the level of underemployment. Unfortunately underemployment is difficult to capture in a quantitative statistic, but we can rely on survey responses from spouses to gage this issue.
2005 Stat Can Income study demonstrated that Mil spouses make on average 20% less than their civilian counterparts
You and your hiring managers will notice a different level of confidence and determination with this workforce. To be honest, this is developed out of necessity to make it through the ups and downs of military family life.
As you can see in the quote provided – military spouses have a “can do” attitude. The men and women are motivated to work and they know how to work hard.
“It can be done. You can find the job you want. You can be your own person” – Military Spouse

8. Military spouses are experts at adapting to change.
Adaptable and mobile
Top feelings reported by spouses when their partner is deployed:
Capable
Confident
In Control
Military spouses are experts at adapting to change.
The normal duration of a military posting is 3-5 years; however; postings vary based on circumstance. When surveyed, 20% of military spouses had been in their current location for 3-5 years and 30% for more than 5 years.
Lastly – as one can only imagine, military spouses are highly adaptable and mobile.
You would think that military spouses would report strong feelings of being overwhelmed, sad and stressed when their spouse is deployed. Although these feelings do exist, the majority expressed that feelings related to strength superseded the difficulty. We are talking about a STRONG workforce.
We know a lot of employers are discouraged in hiring mil spouses due to their fear that they will get up and move in a year or two. It is very important to know that:
On average, personnel spend approximately three to five years in any given location before being moved to a new job. Not all postings involve a geographic move; on large bases where many opportunities for employment within a given career field exist, members may simply be moved to a new position in a different local unit or even within the same organization. Furthermore, the frequency of moves depends largely on the military members career and environment (Navy, Army or Air Force).
As you can see, 50% of military spouses had been in their location longer than the normal 3 year posting.
Military families are mobile, we say they move 3-4 times more than the average Canadian family. I often compare these relocation statistics with the # of job changes made by the upcoming millennial workforce who are known to change jobs more frequently than any other generation.
Does anyone have an example of a spouse they hired who exhibited one or a few of these characteristics?

9. Military Family Realities
In order to fully understand the employment challenges faced by military spouses, it is important to understand the military family lifestyle.
Today’s families have been asked to do more than in the past, and more often.
Canadian military families are similar to civilian Canadian families, but differ in several distinctive ways.
We think it benefits an employer to understand the main characteristics of the military family life as this will help them better understand their military employees.
Depending on how many military family members in audience, comment that none of this is new to them
Civ & Mil families have many similarities – face challenges around finances, relationships, health, wellbeing, balancing household, employment and parenting responsibilities.
Conditions of mil service subject families to demands, sacrifices that most families do not experience.
Military families serve alongside their serving family member and this service requires sacrifice.

10. Military Family Realities
Mobility
Separation
Risk
Military families relocate three times more than the average Canadian family.
Military family members face ongoing and sporadic separation from their serving family member due to trainings and deployments.
Military families must accept the inherent dangers and risks involved in military training and volatile operations.
The additional challenges faced by mil families are often summed up in these three ways.
In isolation, none of these characteristics are unique to CAF member families when compared to other professionals, however, very few other families would be required to face all three of these characteristics.
Given these three common life characteristics, what challenges would a spouse face when it comes to employment?

11. Military Spouse Employment Challenges
As a result of the unique characteristics associated with the military family lifestyle, non-serving military spouses may experiences the following challenges:
Limited viable employment opportunities in small towns and remote areas
Inability to retain seniority, receive promotions or engage in professional growth opportunities due to recurring relocations
Difficulty transferring professional credentials to a new province
Trouble re-entering the professional workforce after staying home to care for children for a period of time
Under-employed and overlooked by employers due to sporadic work history often attributed to mobility
Despite these challenges, they are still finding employment.
We are working very hard at improving the overall career trajectory of spouses…they want to be with the same company, in the same industry and gaining seniority.

12. What is METSpouse?
MFS partnered with Canada Company on METSpouse- to address some of the employment barriers faced by Military Spouses
MFS was very happy to have CFMWS participating in the METSpouse program as we feel the organization leads the way in their practices to hire and retain military spouses.
The reason Canada Company and MFS started the METSpouse initiative was a direct result of recent research results (42.7% of military spouses reported spousal employment as a family issue. Primary health care was second at 36.9 %)
And the growing interest to support military families that we noticed in Corporate Canada – Canada Company in their existing Eps.
(Military Spouses’ Perception of CAF Support: Findings of the Quality of Life Survey, Defence Research and Development Canada, Z. Wang, DGMPRA, 2014)

13. METSpouse Canada Company www.canadacompany.ca
Program led by Canada Company, supported by MFS and facilitated through MFRCs;
Network of national employers committed to promoting employment opportunities to military spouses and exploring portable employment opportunities when a spouse is relocated.
Canada Company
A charitable, non-partisan organization that serves to build the bridge between business and community leaders and the Canadian Military
Basically we want military spouses to have equal opportunities as their civilian counter parts.
METSPOUSE: An employer network , administered by Canada Company and Military Family Services, where partnering employers are aware of the inherent employability of military spouses and explore accommodation for this mobile workforce.
Overcome the stigma that ahs been associated with being a military spouse – and really have employers see the strength of this workforce
In turn, employers strengthen their workforce and enhance their organizational culture and reputation.

14. METSpouse Program Design
METSpouse will mirror the existing MET program
Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) participation
Focus on equal accommodation and employment mobility
Recruitment focusing in 7 areas – Halifax, NS; Valcartier, QC; Montréal, QC; Ottawa, ON; Toronto, ON; Winnipeg, MN and Shilo, MN.
Employers agree to track: military spouse hires and spouses retained internally across a posting
Currently 28 employers
Member only online platform
MET Program – came first in 2012 – Canada Company has over 140 employers participating in the program to target recruiting to veterans and releasing members.
Employer partners in the MET program essentially are committing to promoting jobs to veterans through the MET program and offering equal accommodation to them for job opening. In both MET and METSpouse employers are not asked to provide special accommodation.
METSpouse is piggy backing this program with a few exceptions.
MFRC involvement – spouse needs to work through an MFRC to register at this point in the program. Allows us the opportunity to offer a greater level of support and career coaching to spouses and also track the progress of the program more closely.
Employers have agreed to explore options fro employment mobility when and if a spouse is relocated (internal transfer, work from home option)
In addition to MET Employer Partner Requirements, we ask METSpouse partners to:
Provide military spouses with pay equal to their civilian counterparts with the same level of qualifications;
Explore and support labour mobility opportunities, when possible, if and when a military spouse relocates;
Charge no fees or costs for military spouse employment opportunities;
Identify an individual within the organization to act as the primary point of contact for the METSpouse program and who will participate in new employer training;
Provide METSpouse with quarterly hiring data including total hires and hires retained corporately when relocating;
Ensure partnership information is communicated internally to all hiring managers and leadership (handouts);
Sign a Terms of Reference document (or amendment) to demonstrate an organizational commitment to the METSpouse employer criteria.

15. METSpouse
Employer Partners 15

16. METSpouse Employer Criteria
In addition to MET Employer Partner Requirements, we ask METSpouse partners to:
Provide military spouses with pay equal to their civilian counterparts with the same level of qualifications
Explore and support labour mobility opportunities , when possible, if and when a military spouse relocates
Charge no fees or costs for military spouse employment opportunities
Identify an individual within the organization to act as the primary point of contact for the METSpouse program and who will participate in new employer training
In addition to the MET Terms of Reference, SPMET EP’s are required:
Emphasize importance of Point of Contact – non negotiable
Speak to labour mobility – we are not asking employers to guarantee an employee will be able to transfer to a new location or explore a work from home option, however, we are ask that you explore and be open to these options.
Contact – really need a contact, this contact will be put on the employers landing page and be available for military spouses to contact if they have any questions.

17. METSpouse Employer Criteria
Provide METSpouse with quarterly hiring data including: hires and hires retained corporately when relocating
Ensure partnership information is communicated internally to all hiring managers and leadership (handouts)
Sign a Terms of Reference document (or amendment) to demonstrate an organizational commitment to the METSpouse employer criteria
Communicated internally – biggest concern of MFRCs information not passing down to hiring managers.
Aggreement – not legally binding…letter of support towards military spouses and agreeing to our terms of reference.
ASK IF ANY QUESTIONS.

18. Explain portal
Spouse gets login when registered
Goes online, reviews some job tools, reviews participating employers, click on employers to access their “landing page” which is shown up here.
Click on the Hot Jobs section to access the current job listings with the participating employers.

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20. METSpouse Benefits of METSpouse
Promotion of employment opportunities in your area
Hot Jobs
LinkedIn
Career Fairs (in-person/virtual)
Best Practices for hiring and retaining military spouses
Overall company promotion and advocacy to military community

21. Questions ?
Katie Ochin Program Manager- Employment & Entrepreneurship Military Family Services
Kerry Wheelehan Senior Business Consultant Canada Company
Kerry Wheelehan,  J.D., LL.M. Senior Business Consultant Canada Company
1 Rideau Street Suite 803/ Ottawa ON/ K1N 8S7 T:     E:
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