Philippine Asian News Today Vol 19 No 17 | Page 31

September 1 - 15, 2017 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY 31 Belmont Golf Course, Sept 9, 2017 Sponsor: Hub Financial by Boy Holgado CONGRATS to the CHAMPIONS! CLASS B - Rene Bahena CLASS A - Ron Santos KP Winners Hole # 3 - Billy Vergara            # 5 - Reden Hernandez             # 7 - Art Makalintal #12 - Toti Epondulan   (Photos by Ferdie Lontok) #14 - Ferdie Lontok #17 - Jessie Castillo CAF Offers Opportunities The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) offers several different paid education programs in which successful applicants’ post- secondary tuition and books are paid for. Because they are enrolled as members of the CAF, they also receive an annual salary while attending school. Applicants are advised to apply for the Fall of 2018 this year. The longer a prospect waits to apply, the smaller their chances are of being accepted. “Although our website mentions a deadline of 31 January, due to the numerous steps in our application process I would try and get applications in by November (earlier the better),” advises Lt. Simon Chow, Attractions & Diversity Officer, Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre - Pacific (Vancouver). He adds that although offerings are geared towards high school students currently in grade 12, these programs are open to anyone aged 16-45 granted they have completed high school or will complete high school by the time they are enrolled in June/July 2018. To give you a bit of background information on the paid education programs of the CAF, the most common are the following: 1.       Regular Officer Training Program (ROTP): This is a program to develop future officers in the CAF where successful applicants will receive a paid university education at one of our Military Colleges (Kingston, Ontario or St-Jean, Quebec) or at an accredited civilian university.   2.       Non- Commissioned Member Subsidized Training & Education Program (NCM- STEP): This is a program to develop future Non- Commissioned Members. Successful applicants to this program will receive a paid college education at an approved civilian institution. 3.       Aboriginal Leadership Opportunity Year (ALOY): This is a one-year educational and leadership experience through the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in Kingston, Ontario. Successful applicants will take part in individual and small group tutorials for pre-university and first-year university courses. At the end of one year, applicants may apply to continue at RMC in a degree program through the ROTP program. 4.       There are also programs for higher level education such as the Medical Officer Training Plan (MOTP) where we will pay for medical school, Dental Officer Training Plan (DOTP) where we will pay for Dental School etc. Some of the benefits include tuition and books completely covered. On top of tuition and books being paid for, successful applicants receive an annual salary while attending school. Since they are enrolled into the CAF immediately, school time counts as pensionable time (meaning someone who joins out of high school at age 17 can retire at 42 with WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM a lifetime military pension) The CAF also guarantees a summer job (will be doing military training), guaranteed job after finishing degree/diploma with competitive salaries, and 100% Medical and Dental coverage starting the day they are enrolled. There are over 20 different military occupations for ROTP including Nurse, Aerospace Control, Logistics, and Health Care Administrator For those in the Vancouver area, there will be an information session on paid education on Thursday, September 14th from 6- 8 PM at the CAF office located at 620 Royal Ave, New Westminster, BC. Over the next few months, they will also be visiting most BC high schools through the Post-Secondary Institutions of BC (PSIBC) tour. “I encourage you to have any interested students see our recruiters and ask any questions they may have,” says Chow. For more information, contact the Attractions & Diversity Office, Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre - Pacific (Vancouver), Canadian Armed Forces at telephone number  604- 694-6390 ext 6311 and 604- 417-2466 or email them at [email protected].