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Service member employees wanted

  • Published
  • By Christina Carmen Crea
  • Northwest Guardian
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  The Service Member for Life Transition Summit on Joint Base Lewis-McChord Oct. 21 through 23 will be the biggest transition event JBLM has ever seen.

It will feature a senior leaders' seminar, industry workshops and a large employment fair for all active, guard, Reserve, and veterans and their family members seeking employment. Service members within 12 to 15 months of their separation date are especially encouraged to register for the event.

To attend, all service members and their families must sign up online at wamilitaryalliance.org/summit.

Robin Baker, JBLM Transitions Services manager, said their goal is to connect service members and their families with resources to be successful.

The businesses and companies coming to the summit have at least five open positions.

"There's no kidding, there are jobs that need to be filled from the national, local and state level," Baker said. "You need to start building a network and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

When signing up, service members can select two industries for the workshops, one industry for the morning and one for the afternoon. The seven industries for workshops include: government and the public sector; information technology; healthcare; clean technology and wood products; aerospace & advanced manufacturing; retail and maritime.

Transition tracks service members can take include standard, higher education, career technical training and small business.

Baker recommends service members also load their resume while signing up.

"If you give employers time to look over your resume before the event, you may get an interview on-site," Baker said.

Registering by Oct. 7 is recommended so Baker knows what industries have the most interest and businesses can be prepared.

However, Baker said she wants service members to register whenever they can or, if they forget or didn't know to register beforehand, to still come out.

"Registering early just allows a more maximized opportunity for them and the businesses," Baker said.

Once registered, Baker said updates will be sent to their email on the locations, times of their workshops, parking shuttles and more.

Rare opportunity

Since The Veterans Opportunity to Work Act was passed Nov. 2011 and implemented in 2012, it's been mandated that service members start the transition process a minimum of 12 months out.

Baker added that even service members who are two years out from transitioning should come because this event will likely not happen again soon.

"The reason it's so big is because The U.S. Chamber of Commerce selects a military base every year for this event and we are the fourth to host one," Baker said. "They saw potential in us. We are the first joint base to host one (it's been only Army until now), and we are the first expanding above and beyond with three days instead of two. They're watching how we're doing this and if successful, it might be used as a model event for the future. The likelihood of us getting to host another event like this isn't likely, so I highly recommend service members take advantage of it."

Baker said starting the transition process early is important because the Army is always in a state of flux with service members. The Army pays approximately $32-35 million in Army Unemployment Compensation annually for Washington State residents.

"It's key for service members as they transition out of the military and look forward to establishing a career," said Lt. Col. Andy McQuade, Deputy Chief of Staff for JBLM.

McQuade wants service members to know they acquire a lot of skills while they're in active duty.

"While they might not see it or have wrote anything down yet, other companies see that value so it's important to recognize they are a valuable commodity," McQuade said.

Leaving the Army without a job can cause, what JBLM Commander Col. H. Charles Hodges Jr. calls "No Job Stress Disorder," which is anxiety developed by employment uncertainty of a service member transitioning from the military to civilian workforce.

The Transition Summit aims to set service members and their families up for jobs and prevent NJSD by connecting with career opportunities and resources.

Events

The events will span the course of three days Oct. 21-23.
Day one (Oct. 21) will be the "Senior Leaders' Seminar" where service member leaders will gain valuable insight on national, state and installation transition assistance initiatives, programs and resources.

Day two (Oct. 22) will have "Industry-Focused Career & Transition Workshops" in seven different areas on JBLM where service members and their families can learn about employment paths in seven specific industries.

Day three (Oct. 23) will feature the "Career, Education, Apprenticeship & Small Business Fair" that will have 350 booths.