Unfortunately, not every employer recognizes the demands placed upon Canada’s reservist soldiers, and may not be “military friendly” when it comes to their hiring practices.

Ken Seville and Jamie Smith hope to change that with a new employment Web site called civiside.com .

“Canadian Forces reservists sacrifice evenings and weekends, family and personal time, to train in the country’s defence,” said Mr. Seville, a reservist soldier with the 23 Service Battalion. “Reservists also sacrifice their annual vacation for training and some employers don’t understand or value this commitment to Canada.

“This is reality for many reservists. Without any personal downtime reservists often burnout and are forced to retire from military service, taking with them invaluable experience and expertise.”

Currently, between 20 to 30 per cent of current overseas deployments are filled by reservists. Mr. Seville said the loss of trained soldiers due to employer indifference directly hinders Canada’s military’s effectiveness and is a tragedy for those who serve.

To combat these concerns, Mr. Seville and Mr. Smith, who met while at McMaster University, created an online solution with the goal of channeling young reservists graduating from post-secondary to employers that support the reserves and want to do their part in the defence of Canada.

The concept is simple; approximately 38 per cent of reservists are post-secondary students. Nearly all of these student reservists are looking for a full-time civilian job upon graduation. Civiside.com aims to connect them with employers screened for reserve-friendliness, giving them more options and helping to increase the effectiveness of the Canada’s reserve forces.

Mr. Seville said it all amounts to a win-win for employers, who will attract exceptional young candidates with the same academic credentials as their civilian peers, plus demonstrated team-orientation, work ethic, leadership, reliability and other qualities that are ideal in new grads.

“Hiring a young reservist and supporting their part-time military career, typically with two-weeks off annually for training, is a great way to support our future veterans and demonstrate corporate citizenship,” said Mr. Seville.

Civiside.com was inspired by stories of frustration heard and experienced by reservists forced to retire by employers who don’t appreciate their commitment to Canada’s defence.

“We’ve talked to people at local steel mills who were made to worry about taking time off and whether their jobs would still be deemed necessary,” said Mr. Seville. “We had a teacher with the local school board who ended up retiring because his employer denied him time off. It’s hard to imagine this attitude, because reserve soldiers need constant training to ensure the security of Canada both home and abroad. We can’t do our jobs effectively without training.”

Mr. Seville said he understands not every employer appreciates the sacrifices reserve soldiers must make. But he added those who don’t want to develop reserve-friendly employment policies may be putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage.

“Soldiers understand the concept of hard work, and being a team player,” said Mr. Seville. “Basic training weeds out those who are not prepared to work hard, work together and put in a long day.”

One employer who recognizes the important role reservists play is Mohawk College.

The college has a policy to extend support to students and staff who are members of the Canadian Forces Reserves, by granting special dispensations as required to serve in the Canadian Forces. Mohawk signed a statement of support for student-reservists on August 16, 2006. The policy allows for short-term leaves, deferments of scheduled exams, deferments of scheduled assignments and extended leaves of absence

The hurdle civiside.com hopes to overcome is awareness among employers and citizens alike.

“We haven’t had a culture that understands the sacrifices those in the military must make since the Second World War,” he said. “Many people haven’t grown up with the experience of war and the need to defend our country. This isn’t about Afghanistan, or any other current mission. This is about making sure we have well trained soldiers for the future. I think we have a moral responsibility and duty to support those who are ready and willing to protect you and the way of life we all enjoy in Canada.”

Learn more by visiting civiside.com . Posting jobs is free for employers. Industry standard fee applies upon hire.