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Education/training

Job fair may be for you

Pte. Steven Trottier has signed on the dotted line twice. The first time was in 2003 for three years and it turned him into a soldier and paramedic in the Canadian army. The second time the Windsor, Ont., native put his signature on a military contract it committed him to a further 22 years, meaning Trottier will have spent 25 years in the army on retirement.

DAVID CHILTON

[ 2006-03-22 ]

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Trottier, 34, says he was working in the dietary department in at Windsor Regional Hospital and enjoyed his job, but with government cutbacks he started to look for something a little more secure and looked into trades training in the Canadian Forces. The only job he wanted was medical technician -- paramedic in civilian speak.

And that's what he became. After 10 weeks basic training at St. Jean, Que., Trottier then spent six months at the Justice Institute of British Columbia in Chiliwack studying to become a paramedic, which the Canadian army paid for.

Learning to become a paramedic is just one of the more than 100 trades and occupations the Canadian Forces offers recruits, says Lt. Aida Gabriel, a diversity officer stationed in Toronto.

"We don't stop (recruiting)," Gabriel says. "We're always trying to get the word out. We're trying to create this opportunity where people can see and actually talk to people from all elements (of the Canadian Forces.)"

The opportunity Gabriel means is the job fair the army, navy and air force are putting on March 24 at Fort York Armouries, 660 Fleet St. in Toronto from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. There, would-be recruits can learn about how to become an army paramedic like Trottier, or find out more about becoming a radar and sonar technician in the navy or an avionics technician in the air force. The list of trade training available in the Canadian Forces is lengthy, with Gabriel reeling off one job after another, many of them health related.

"The best way to find out about an occupation is to come and take a look," she says.

There are a few basics anyone considering a career in the Canadian Forces must have. Canadian citizenship is one of them. Other scrutiny includes taking a written test, a physical fitness test, a medical examination and a one-on-one interview that lasts about an hour. Age is not especially relevant, depending on the occupation, with the upper limit a positively middle aged 57 for certain occupations such as physicians, who also qualify for signing bonuses of up to $225,000.

Registered nursing students can also benefit financially and in other ways with a spell in the Canadian Forces. Gabriel says with two years of school behind them the military will pay their tuition for their final two years if they commit themselves for five years of service. That five-year commitment, incidentally, is really only three years since the forces-funded two years counts against the total.

Gabriel says "clean" applicants to the Canadian Forces, and by that she means those who get all their paperwork in on time correctly, can expect to start their lives in the military in as little as four to five weeks. Anyone heading to officer training will have to be a little more patient. Gabriel says officer selection boards are held two to three times a year so signing on takes a little longer.

But an extra couple of months seems neither here nor there, it seems, especially if, like Trottier, the would-be recruit is making what is essentially a lifetime commitment.

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