The Defence Team held its first nationwide Career and Networking Fair on October 17. The main event occurred in Ottawa, joined by locations across the country, to make this event a success. Defence Team members in Esquimalt, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Kingston, Petawawa, Montreal, Gagetown and Halifax had the opportunity to take part in person or virtually, with kiosks and workshops or via online participation. In total, more than 1500 people registered for the event.

Military members and their spouses, as well as civilian employees and students, had the chance to learn more about the possibilities offered within our department, such as the Military Spouse Employment Initiative, Employee Assistance Program, Veterans in the Public Service – Continuing to Serve, CANSOFCOM and so many more. Participants described the event as a great way to network amongst colleagues that you may correspond with often but don’t have the chance to chat with in person.

Defence Team members took full advantage of the virtual component, Career Connections, which allowed human resources staff to pre-schedule meetings with hiring managers. This enabled several employees across the country to be interviewed, or in some cases, offered a position! Teams that set up kiosks left with piles of resumes, including those from students.

Bill Matthews, our Senior Associate Deputy Minister and keynote speaker for the event, delivered a heartfelt speech as an introduction to the panel discussion titled Keys to Success: Candid advice on how to succeed in your career. Mr. Matthews offered insightful advice for both managers and employees seeking career advancement, followed by a discussion between our guests, Colonel Kevin Cameron, Colonel Telah Morrison and Monica Kolstein.

The keynote address, panel discussion, virtual kiosks and workshops will be available on the event website until November 17.