Working it out
Non-profit that aids retired veterans in their job search reaches the East Coast

DAVID GOUGH doesn’t hide how he feels about serving as chair of Canada Company’s Atlantic Chapter, a non-profit dedicated to helping veterans find work in the civilian world after their military careers are over. “I’m pumped,” Gough says.

The Atlantic Chapter was launched in late May and it’s Canada Company’s first foray into Atlantic Canada. Gough is a good guy to be chairing an organization he believes can help bridge the divide between “the military world and the employment world looking for skilled talent.” Gough is an honourary colonel in the Canadian army. He’s also a Halifax-based entrepreneur with a long history in the technology sector.

Gough says men and women with long military careers sometimes have a hard time finding work once they retire and become a civilian. Part of the problem is after spending many years in the armed forces, they often don’t know how to prepare a proper resume, how to act during a job interview or how to find a match for their skills and training. The other problem is corporate Canada tends to have a stereotypical view of veterans and shies away from hiring them. “It’s what some people call the Rambo Effect,” says Dwayne Cormier, Canada Company’s director of transition services. “They think everyone is a sergeant major and all they do is scream. That’s so not the military.”

Canada Company hopes that having an Atlantic Chapter can help veterans in the region find work so they can stay in Atlantic Canada and reverse the cycle of outmigration. At the same time it wants to create awareness among the business community of how veterans can enrich their workplaces. “We’ll get business people to open their doors and engage with the military and veterans to access the amazing talents they have,” Gough says.