Royal Canadian Navy breaks new ground in recruiting

Launched last March, the Royal Canadian Navy's (RCN) Naval Experience Program (NEP) aims to recruit several hundred volunteers over the next five years. The military institution, like other public and private structures, is facing a lack of human resources and fierce competition in the maritime sector. Captain (Navy) Jean Stéphane Ouellet, while in Quebec City, explains this ambitious program.

Like other components of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), the RCN is facing a manpower shortage, estimated at nearly 1,700 vacant positions. To address this, the RCN launched the Navy Experience Program (NEP) in late March. This ambitious pilot program offers conditions never before seen in the CAF: for 12 months, volunteers will be able to experience the Navy and its trades! While in a traditional recruitment process, volunteers have to choose a profession at the very beginning of their military career, the opposite is true: the NEP offers a 12-month immersion in the heart of the RCN, allowing volunteers to form their own ideas about their future in uniform, before deciding on a profession or specialization.

And the benefits are many: paid for the duration of the program, volunteers receive the same medical and dental services as all members of the RCN. In addition, rent and rations are covered at 100%! Each volunteer decides on his or her assignment (Atlantic or Pacific coast). Finally, in order to convince the most hesitant, know that the contract can be broken at any time!

From Civilian To Sailor

Captain Ouellet, spokesperson for the NEP program, explains the process for candidates interested in the program. To join, "nothing could be easier, you apply online. Then, as a first step, each selected candidate will follow the 8-week basic training in the CAF, which takes place in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. Then, after choosing a coast, the candidate will have to follow basic naval training, the rudiments of the seaman's trade (fighting a fire, handling mooring lines, etc.), either in

Halifax, Nova Scotia, or in Esquimalt, British Columbia. After this period, the new sailors will spend two weeks at sea to consolidate their learning.

Finally, during the last seven months of the EMP, the recruits will experience the different trades and specializations of the Navy, in order to discover as many things as possible. Captain (Navy) Ouellet specifies that each of the recruits will go "several times to sea. And at the end of the program, each one will be faced with a choice: "either stay in the Navy, join the Naval Reserve, join other CAF forces, or return to civilian life with an additional background"!

144 Recruitments Per Year

This is the recruitment target desired by the Royal Navy for 2023: 72 new recruits for each coast, that is 144 new sailors! If all profiles are welcome (from 17 to 58 years old, for Canadian citizens and permanent residents), it is primarily young people who are targeted. In particular, those who are still hesitating to join the Navy, those who are wondering what they could do under the uniform, those who are looking for what to do during a sabbatical year or those interested in joining the Navy for a short period.

This is a key fact that the Navy has taken on board: while the average contract in the Navy is three to seven years, the younger generation no longer wants to commit for that long. With their shorter-term vision, the proposal of a 12-month contract, which is not binding, seems attractive!

Captain Ouellet insists that the watchword is "to leave the choice to the people", with a promise. That of discovering the world, "to travel, to go on adventures, and to make friends for life". He also explained that this is "a good time to join the Navy", which is about to receive or has already been equipped with new and excellent ships, as well as the opportunity to sail the seas and oceans of the world. Currently, the Canadian Navy deploys ships to Europe, the Indo-Pacific, the Atlantic, the Pacific and Africa.

Remise d’un don de 3000 $ de la part du Fonds Général Vanier

Ce 18 mai dernier, au soutien du Fonds de charité de la Base Valcartier, le Fonds Général Vanier a fait don d'un chèque de 3000 dollars. Lors d'une cérémonie qui s'est tenue au Centre Spirituel de Valcartier, deux représentants du Fonds Général Vanier, l'adjudant-chef Maurice Dessureault (ret), secrétaire, et le capitaine Jean-Marc Godin (ret), administrateur, ont remis cette somme à la Fondation Général Vanier du Royal 22e Régiment (du nom de Georges Vanier, vétéran des deux guerres mondiales et 19e gouverneur général du Canada).

La Fondation Général Vanier soutient depuis plusieurs années le Fonds de charité de la Base Valcartier, ce qui permet de supporter les familles des membres de l’Équipe de la Défense de Valcartier aux prises avec des difficultés financières temporaires. Sans l’aide de partenaire tel que la Fondation Général Vanier, la portée de ce soutien ne saurait répondre à la demande.