Spouse employment! Veteran employment! DoD Blogger Roundtable!
I have to admit being a bit behind. I should have written this last week but a little bit of taking on too much, my mind on personal issues, the political season and of course, writer’s block just all combined to make the blog a bit behind schedule.
Why too busy? More work than one person can do led to priorities.
Why the political season? I guess I am concerned that veteran and spouse issues might be used as a political wedge during a tough presidential campaign. Sensitive to the lead guy in the military (the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) criticizing retired, separated veterans for their activist role in our democracy (See Dempsey: Political Activity Erodes Public Trust in Military). Yet, an active duty officer, speaking from the White House, for a veteran and spouse program that is led by the First Lady?
Then I had some other things on my mind due to some medical tests coming up (cancer never really goes away) and finally I saw some tweets that just seemed to tell the story and this was too important for our military community for me not to share it!
So let’s start with a tweet from @JoiningForces: First Lady: So far 26 states have adopted measures to help #milspouses transfer their licenses or more easily obtain new ones
Continue reading for some great military spouse and veteran employment resources!
National Resource DirectoryThat is a major accomplishment for our military spouses that need a license to continue in their chosen career path – examples include teachers, nurses, accountants, lawyers, etc. Many spent years of training and education to become licensed and then the military move takes them to a new state that had different requirements. This legislation will make their jobs transportable! That next PCS could be easier, the bank account might stay level and job satisfaction would be retained. I remember my military spouse, a highly skilled teacher, taking a job at a national store as a photographer because she was not able to teach in that state.
@JoiningForces: First Lady: When it comes to employment for our #veterans & #milspouses, we’ve still got a long way to go.
Yes we do, but great progress is being made! More employers are coming on board and goals are being met or exceeded. Joining Forces has announced that 125,000 veterans and military spouses have been hired through efforts such as the DoD’s Military Spouse Employment Partnership.
@JoiningForces First Lady: And today, they are pledging to hire or train another 1/4 of a million of our nation’s heroes… including > 50,000 #milspouses
So where can you join this team as an employer or employee? First job fairs are out there for you! I wrote earlier (Military Spouse Employment – Exciting Times! DoD Blogger Roundtable) about how to find one and they are being successful in connecting the employers with military spouses. I asked Meg O’Grady, acting program manager of the DoD’s Military Spouse Employment Partnership about a recent job fair at Joint Base Lewis McChord and she said 20 military spouses had walked out the door with jobs! Go beyond the 20 into resumes shared, job interviews practiced and shared and all the other contacts made and that would be the top of a big pyramid. So where do you start?
@JoiningForces At live #veterans #jobs event, the First Lady highlights #Veterans Job Bank w/more than 1M jobs posted – check it out: http://www.nrd.gov
Hiring Our Heroes US Chamber of CommerceSo find out more! Get involved, find the next job fair in your area or where you have orders too! There is absolutely no reason to sit back and say you can not find a job without putting in a bit of effort! The team at Joining Forces, the Chamber of Commerce, MSEP and many others are working for you. MilitaryAvenue is your biggest fan and we wish you the best! Let us know how the job hunt is going and where you found the best opportunities!
If you would like to listen to an audio or read a transcript of this very informative DoD Blogger Roundtable on spouse employment be sure to go to DoDLive!
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Col K enjoyed 30 years of service in the US Air Force with numerous ties to all the services. He writes for MilitaryAvenue with the experience of 18 PCS moves/relocations for his family, numerous lengthy temporary duty assignments and service during conflicts from Vietnam to Afghanistan.
Image Credit: National Resource Directory
Image Credit: Hiring Our Heroes US Chamber of Commerce
byColonel KonTuesday, August 28, 2012Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to PinterestMilitary Life:Col K,DoD Roundtable,military community,military family,Military Spouse Employment,Sarcoma Cancer
