IT training for veterans: unique program aids transition

Peter Mallett 
Staff Writer

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Attention veterans and currently transitioning military personnel. There’s a free training program designed to prepare you for a career in information technology.

Australian-based company With You With Me (WYWM) works with government agencies to combat the shortage of digital skills through their unique coaching and instruction.

“We want CAF transitioning members to understand they have numerous opportunities outside the military in the tech field,” says Travis Rivard, WYWM Engagement Officer.

Rivard speaks from experience, as he is a retired Major in the Canadian military who found a place in the IT domain. Plus, the company’s founder Tom Moore is also a veteran who experienced the struggle of leaving the military and moving into the civilian workforce.

WYWM began its involvement with the Government of Canada as a partner in their Cyber Workforce Enablement Program in 2020. It is a supply arrangement where the government can call up cyber- and technology-trained Canadian Armed Forces veterans to fill the overwhelming cyber resource demand in the Public Service.

The process

With You With Me provides aptitude, psychometric, cultural fit, and learning style assessments to match candidates to an IT job best suited for them, such as Cyber Analyst, Data Analytics, and Software Developer.

Following the assessment, virtual training begins, anywhere from six to 12 weeks depending on the program. Trainees use the WYWM Potential Software Platform to learn their tech-industry skills.

In a 12-month period, WYWM helped hire more than 100 veterans in the Government of Canada and the private sector.

“Veterans have exceptional aptitudes and skills,” says Rivard.

WYWM tested more than 30,000 veterans and found that 67 per cent of respondents had the same aptitude traits as software engineers and other skilled occupations.

What’s with the name?

The company name is derived from Australian military speak.

“With You With Me is a catch phrase used by Australian soldiers during urban entry drills.

“Essentially, it means I have your back, but it has also become a rallying cry for veterans to band together, solve their own problems, and change the system,” explains Rivard.

WYWM has forged strong relationships with the Australian Defence Force, various departments within Australia’s federal government, and large financial insurance partners such as Suncorp and Westpac.

The company’s mission has also transformed. While WYWM initially focussed on helping veterans transition successfully into the tech industry, its reach has expanded. It now supports military spouses, Indigenous refugees in four countries, and the neurodiverse (learning disorders) with similar training and employment opportunities.

For more information about WYWM visit their website:

www.withyouwithme.com/caf-veterans

Captain Travis Rivard on Operation Nanook-Nunalivut March 2019, Resolute Bay, NU. After retirement, he found work in the IT field with help from With You With me.