EDITOR’S NOTE:

The following article from “Military.Com” is an excellent treatise from an employer perspective about the challenges often faced by veterans returning to or entering the civilian workplace.

It does not fully address, however, an understanding of why these challenges exist and what to do about them from both employer and employee perspectives. For that insight I suggest you combine your review of this article with the article at our companion blog , “Smalltofeds” “ Meeting Veteran & Employer Challenges During Transition from Military to Civilian Work”

Meeting Veteran & Employer Challenges During Transition from Military to Civilian Work

A respectful partnership and realistic expectations must evolve between the veteran and the company for success in transitioning former military personnel into the civilian work force. This must be achieved through education, training, communication and assessment of both the veteran and the company personnel.

"MILITARY.COM”

"Transitioning from the military into civilian life isn’t always easy. Despite the fact that you come from the same country and speak the same language, the culture of the civilian working world is radically different from the U.S. military. Both have different hierarchies, practices, and industry-specific language. Making a successful transition means learning a new set of skills to adapt to civilian workforce culture. Business Insider provided a list of the top nine obstacles transitioning veterans usually face, and we’ve touched one each of them for you below.

1. You don’t see the transition from the military as starting over professionally.

When you first joined the military, how much did you know about it? Maybe a few basic concepts from books or what you heard from friends and family, but not much else. It took months of training and acclimatizing to fully integrate, and years to move up the ranks. Every step of the way brought new lessons and new ways of doing things.

The working world is no different. No matter what you did in the military, no matter how competent you are with the core skills necessary to do the job you want, it takes training and experience to climb the ranks. Although some may move quickly, the learning curve is unavoidable.

When they join the civilian workforce, it’s important that veterans realize they are, more often than not, taking a step down. Their responsibilities won’t be as intense or, likely, important as they were in the military. Accepting that is imperative to maintaining a focused, realistic perspective.

2. You overestimate how unique your skills and experiences are.

Years of intense experiences have shaped you in many positive ways. You should be a shoe-in for any civilian job, right? If there were far fewer people competing for the same positions, then maybe. Monster.com reported that 470,000 resumes were uploaded every week in 2012. If you compare that number to the number of job openings available, you have roughly 187 candidates, qualified or not, per job. No matter how qualified you are, you’re likely competing with many others who are just as capable as you or are otherwise flooding the recruiter or hiring manager. Don’t ever rely on your inherent worth – finding jobs will always require work.

3. Your resume is too long or too short.

How do you condense the depth and breadth of your work history and military experience into a single sheet of paper? According to Business Insider, you don’t. The trick is to cherry-pick jobs and tasks from your work history, military experience included, that are most relevant to the job you’re applying for. That means you might need to create a slew of resumes for different applications, but doing so will prove fruitful. An employer will respond more favorably to a resume that clearly identifies what in your history suits you well to the open position rather than a laundry list of miscellaneous accomplishments.

4. You did not proofread your resume.

If your version of proofreading is scanning for all the red squiggly lines and unthinkingly making the suggested changes, you’re doing it wrong. Proofreading tools that accompany word processors are powerful but limited. They won’t always catch obvious spelling mistakes, sometimes autocorrect to the wrong word, and their sense of grammar isn’t as impeccable as yours should be. Take the time to honestly analyze every single sentence and scrutinize each punctuation mark. Have other people read it, read it five more times yourself, then have even more people read it; do whatever it takes, even using a professional writing service, to make sure your grammar, spelling, and formatting are impeccable.

5. You aren’t using LinkedIn, or your profile isn’t complete.

The civilian working world takes LinkedIn seriously, and so should you. You don’t have to be a social media expert, but creating a complete profile and remaining open to networking opportunities will serve well any job-seeker. Some may even argue it’s a necessity. A LinkedIn profile shows off that you’re capable of navigating modern technology and adapting to shifting business standards. Even if you don’t have your sights set on working in upper management, having an easily accessible professional online profile will help you regardless of your chosen industry.

6. You aren’t trying to leverage social media.

A few years ago, scoffing at Myspace or the then young Facebook wasn’t an outmoded thing to do. Social media started off as an interesting way to reach out to others online, but only recently has it exploded into a nearly ubiquitous cultural phenomenon and enraptured the working world. Just as with LinkedIn, you don’t have to be an expert but competency will make you a stronger candidate.

Websites like Facebook and Google+ allow you to remain in contact with individuals who may offer you a new job; even if you don’t see each other face to face on a regular basis, professionals tend to remember who they like and trust when it’s time to fill a position. Furthermore, Twitter isn’t just for bragging about food or lamenting about “first world problems” – hiring managers and companies alike often tweet about job openings and provide information about their company, industry, and other useful information.

7. You did not prepare adequately for the interview.

No matter how many jokes you’ve heard about professionals successfully faking their way through work, the reality is that valuable employees train, prepare, and make sure they’re ready to accomplish a given task. Job interviews aren’t to be taken lightly, and research and practice can only help you. The more you know about a company and the industries it’s a part of, the more knowledgeable and prepared you’ll appear during an interview. Potential employers respond well to candidates who show genuine interest, and that’s proven by knowing who they are, what they do, who their competition is, what industry trends they’re grappling with; the list goes on and on.

8. You wrote a lackluster thank you note.

Thank you notes are simple, easy, and help you stand out. After a job interview, get busy procuring and crafting your note, and make sure it gets to the right people as soon as possible. Having said that, it’s not enough to write: “Dear potential employer, thank you for the interview. I’m awesome. Take care, veteran of the U.S. Military.” The thank you needs to be accompanied by genuine introspection. Recall what you discussed during the interview, and mention one or two points in the thank you note. The note itself is a mark of appreciation, but what you write is an indicator of what you learned and how much you pay attention.

9. You don’t know what you want to do.

If you really don’t know what you want to do professionally, your job-searching forays are a poor time and place to figure it out. Candidates who lack focus aren’t appealing to employers. You might not know what you want to do, but no one else will figure it out for you, especially hiring managers and recruiters. Rather than use job listings and the application process to find your path, try securing informational interviews, attending gatherings for different careers, and researching online.”

Top 9 Obstacles to Employment Veterans Face

What is a Protected Veteran in U.S. Job Applications?

If companies to which you are applying are doing business with the Federal Government, they must abide by the law with regard to hiring protected veterans and report statistics on their compliance. Application data regarding protected veterans is tracked.

“DEPARTMENT OF LABOR”

“The law, sometimes referred to as VEVRAA or Section 4212, requires employers doing business with the Federal government to take steps to recruit, hire and promote protected veterans. It also makes it illegal for these companies to discriminate against protected veterans when making employment decisions on hiring, firing, pay, benefits, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, training, and other employment related activities.”

You are a “protected veteran” under Section 4212 if you belong to one of the categories of veterans described below:

Disabled Veteran

A veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military and is entitled to disability compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to disability compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

Other Protected Veteran

A veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge was authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

Recently Separated Veteran

A veteran separated during the three-year period beginning on the date of the veteran’s discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military.

Armed Forces Service Medal Veteran

A veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, participated in a U.S. military operation that received an Armed Forces service medal.”

Are You A Protected Veteran?

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SMALL BUSINESS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING

Why Do They Ask If You Are A Protected Veteran In A U.S. Job Application?

Image:  U.S. Department of Labor

The companies to which you are applying are doing business with the Federal Government. As such they must abide by the law with regard to hiring protected veterans and report statistics on their compliance. That is why the application data regarding protected veterans is tracked.

The definition of a protected veteran under the law is below:

“DEPARTMENT OF LABOR”

“The law, sometimes referred to as VEVRAA or Section 4212, requires employers doing business with the Federal government to take steps to recruit, hire and promote protected veterans. It also makes it illegal for these companies to discriminate against protected veterans when making employment decisions on hiring, firing, pay, benefits, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, training, and other employment related activities.”

You are a “protected veteran” under Section 4212 if you belong to one of the categories of veterans described below:

Disabled Veteran

A veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military and is entitled to disability compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to disability compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

Other Protected Veteran

A veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge was authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

Recently Separated Veteran

A veteran separated during the three-year period beginning on the date of the veteran’s discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military.

Armed Forces Service Medal Veteran

A veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, participated in a U.S. military operation that received an Armed Forces service medal.”

Am I A Protected Veteran?

FREE SMALL BUSINESS GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING BOOKS AND SUPPLEMENTS

The below table of contents reflects free small business federal government contracting materials available at Small To Feds.


You may download the book, Small Business Federal Government Contracting and its supplement from the "Box" in the right margin below at this site.  Blue topic titles are the basic book and red topics are contained in the supplement. 

Use the links beneath the table to access more recent articles at Smalltofeds since the publication of the book and the supplement.

(Please click on image to enlarge)

RECENT MATERIAL LINKS (Not included in Above)

SMALL BUSINESS COMPANY TRAINING

MANAGING INDUSTRY TEAMING RELATIONSHIPS

UTILIZING THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) 

GOVERNMENT CONTRACT BID PROTESTS 

UNSOLICITED GOVERNMENT CONTRACT PROPOSALS

VITAL TIPS FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT 

FIXED PRICE VS. COST PLUS IN CONTRACTING 

MAKING AN ASUTE BID/NO BID DECISION 

THE TRUTH IN NEGOTIATIONS ACT (TINA) 


All articles are kept current on the web site.  The latest version within the book can be reached by simply clicking on the article live links.

You may also benefit from the free "Reference Materials" in the "Box" in the right margin.  Contract agreements, incorporation instructions for all the US states, guidance on marketing and business planning are all included. 

Other free books by Ken Larson, available as downloads from the "Box" include:

"A Veteran's Photo/Poetry Journal of Recovery
From Post Traumatic Stress Disorder " 

"Odyssey of Armaments" My Journey Through the Defense Industrial Complex"

PTSD - A Veteran's Photo/Poetry Journal of Recovery from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

View On Behance

Free in Adobe format in the Box Net cube in the right margin of this site.

In 2005 Ken Larson underwent treatment at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota for PTSD, having self-treated the illness since returning from Vietnam in 1968

He chose not to be treated when advances in care became available in the mid 1980's, driven by a need to keep his security clearances in the defense industry. That dilemma is described in his book," Odyssey of Armaments" and is a story for another time.

This journal has been a powerful catalyst in Ken's recovery. It combines thoughts as he worked his way through a traumatic past with favorite photos of nature taken in his odyssey. The resulting marriage of written word and visual expression permitted resolutions to issues that haunted him.

Although the journal is still a work in process, it is published here in the hope it may educate and perhaps assist others like him who have suffered from PTSD to come out of the darkness and into the light.

An Independent Commission Will Review The Military’s Suicide Prevention Efforts

 

  Airman Karla Parra/Air Force

"MILITARY TIMES" By Meghann Myers

"Despite more than a decade’s worth of effort to prevent suicides among service members, the numbers continue to rise, including a 16-percent jump during 2020.

To get a better idea of the scope of the issue, Congress mandated an independent review commission in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act and, on Tuesday, the Pentagon announced it would begin getting it off the ground."

______________________________________________________________________

“It is imperative that we take care of all our teammates and continue to reinforce that mental health and suicide prevention remain a key priority,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote in a memo signed Tuesday. “One death by suicide is one too many. And suicide rates among our Service members are still too high. So, clearly we have more work.

The commission will study suicide prevention and behavioral health programs across the services, including site visits, focus groups, interviews and a confidential survey of troops at every location visited, much in the same way an independent review commission on sexual assault went about its mandate last year.

“He’s seen enough to know that we we’ve got to do something different, that we’ve got to try to take additional and more creative action here,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said of the secretary’s concerns.

The first nine bases on the list are:

• Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska

• Fort Wainright, Alaska

• Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska

• Fort Campbell, Kentucky

• Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

• Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada

• Naval Air Station North Island, California

• Camp Humphreys, South Korea

• North Carolina National Guard

Alaska has made headlines in recent years with its disproportionate suicide rate among service members. U.S. Army Alaska alone confirmed in December that it had seen 10 confirmed suicides in 2021, with several more deaths still under investigation.

Austin “spent a lot of time when he went out to Fairbanks, talking with troops and commanders about the challenges there with respect to mental health and suicide,” Kirby said of the secretary’s trip to Alaska last summer.

The other installations were chosen in consultation with leaders, Kirby said.

Alaska has made headlines in recent years with its disproportionate suicide rate among service members. U.S. Army Alaska alone confirmed in December that it had seen 10 confirmed suicides in 2021, with several more deaths still under investigation.

Austin “spent a lot of time when he went out to Fairbanks, talking with troops and commanders about the challenges there with respect to mental health and suicide,” Kirby said of the secretary’s trip to Alaska last summer.

The other installations were chosen in consultation with leaders, Kirby said.

“So, I mean, it was a team effort to come up with this list,” he said. “And … it’s the initial list of installations. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the end all list here.”

Despite more access to behavioral health resources than ever before, some service members still struggle to push through their concerns about seeking treatment, while others experience long waits to access care on their bases.

I think the secretary believes that one problem that we have to get after is the stigma of seeking help for mental health problems, which is still a problem in the military,” Kirby said. Many service members still have the impression that seeking mental health treatment will negatively affect their military careers, from favorable assignments to deployments to promotion chances.

One specific measure Austin is interested in is firearms storage, Kirby said.

More than 60 percent of military suicides are carried out with a personally owned firearm, according to DoD data. Research on suicide has shown that the decision to end one’s life is largely an impulsive one, and that even having to remove a weapon from a locked safe can give someone enough time to reconsider.

“And one of the things that he wants to do is is is work with commanders on storage of the firearms in the home or on base and make sure we’ve got that,” Kirby said.

The department has 60 days to tap members of the commission, according to the memo. After that, site visits will begin no later than Aug. 1, with an initial report due to Austin by Dec. 20. Congress will receive the findings by Feb. 18."

If you or a loved one is experiencing thoughts of self-harm or suicide, you can confidentially seek assistance via the Military/Veterans Crisis Line at 800-273-8255, via text at 838255 or chat at http://VeteransCrisisLine.net."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members. Follow on Twitter @Meghann_MT

Vets Suicide Independent Commission

"Drone Warrior" - A Stunning First Hand Memoir

Amazon.com

GQ.com

After a careful review by the Intelligence Community for Publication, Drone Warrior has performed a stunning service, giving the reader a gut level feel for U.S. War from a decorated soldier's perspective. 

Those of us who served in Vietnam and similar conflicts since can totally relate to this masterpiece of  honesty.  

___________________________________________________________________

Brett Velicovich pulls no punches. The mental stress, teamwork, tragedy and after effects in this modern, technological killing process can be felt with every line.  The impact on the man himself and on those with whom he worked has not been spared in its detail and its effects. 

Having left the service, Brett is now involved in harnessing and controlling the technology for peaceful purposes like wildlife preservation and management.  Those of us who have made similar transitions applaud, commend and recommend the book and the man. 

Read it to become informed and consider the billions we are spending on this warfare today as well as the impact on our youth and our future. 

Drone Warrior

Women’s History Month – 8 Woman Soldiers Who Changed US Military History

 

All Photos – Military Times

“MILITARY TIMES” By Dylan Gresik

“Women have dutifully served their country since the days of the American Revolution. From breaking barriers in combat to challenging the status quo across eras, here are eight female soldiers who changed the course of history for the U.S. military.“

________________________________________________________________________________

“Cathay Williams

“The Union Army had pressed Cathay Williams into service as a young girl to cook and launder clothes for XIII Corps. She grew accustomed to military life and being on the march, which must have made her later deception easier. (U.S. Army)

Pvt. Cathay Williams began her journey with the U.S. military in a support role during the Civil War, forced to serve due to her status as a captured slave, the National Park Service noted. After the war, Williams became the first Black woman to enlist when she joined the Army under a male pseudonym, William Cathay, in 1866, the Army noted.

“A young, female, unmarried former slave,” Williams joined the Army without a full medical examination, and she was assigned to the 38th U.S. Infantry Regiment – which would become part of the famed Buffalo Soldiers, according to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Suffering from smallpox, Williams was discovered to be a woman while undergoing treatment and honorably discharged in 1868. She continued in her work as a military cook at Fort Union, New Mexico. Her story was documented in the St. Louis Daily Times in 1876.

Williams was the first Black woman to enlist in the U.S. Army and the only known female Buffalo Soldier.

Dr. Mary E. Walker

Dr. Mary Walker was an outspoken advocate for women’s rights, and the first woman ever awarded the Medal of Honor for her service as a surgeon during the Civil War. (U.S. National Library of Medicine)

In 1861, 29-year-old Dr. Mary Walker applied to become a surgeon with the Union Army, as she had been one of the few female physicians in the country prior to the start of the Civil War. She was rejected but remained on as a volunteer, leveraging her skills to treat the wounded, AUSA noted.

Two years later, Walker finally received an appointment to serve an assistant surgeon in the Army, after spending additional time as a field surgeon in Virginia, according to an Army story. In the latter years of the war, Walker was captured by Confederate forces, held in squalid conditions as a prisoner of war, yet another in a long line of abuses due to her status as a woman.

She lobbied for women’s causes and for her service during the war, she was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1865. The award was later rescinded in 1917 due to her status as a civilian, but President Jimmy Carter restored the award in 1977, the Army noted.

Dr. Mary Walker remains the only woman to have received the Medal of Honor in U.S. history.

Harriet Tubman

The rechristened and self-liberated Harriet Tubman launched an illustrious career as a member of the Underground Railroad. Tubman was the “Great Emancipator,” leading scores of escaping African Americans to freedom, often all the way to Canada. She built up a network of supporters and admirers, including William Lloyd Garrison and William Seward, to name but two who lauded her efforts. (Library of Congress)

Beyond being the legendary “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, shepherding enslaved persons to freedom, Harriet Tubman also aided the Union’s military effort in the Civil War. Early in the war, Tubman served as a nurse for Union regiments before moving on to a larger role as spymaster and military scout.

Under the direction of War Secretary Edwin Stanton, Tubman recruited locals throughout conquered areas in the South to pass information along to Union commanders and assist in assault preparations. Her group’s work led to a successful assault on Jacksonville, Florida, and the Combahee River Raid in June 1863, as Military Times previously reported.

Decades later, Tubman finally received recognition — to a degree — for her military service during the Civil War, as she had been kept out of official military documents. In 1899, Tubman was granted a pension, officially validating her widely known contributions to the Union cause.

Mary A. Hallaren

Col. Mary Hallaren became the first official female soldier to join the U.S. Army as Director of the Women’s Army Corps. (AP)

Col. Mary Hallaren became a member of the first training class of the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (later, Women’s Army Corps, or WAC) in 1942 before commanding the largest all-female unit to serve overseas. In 1948, while serving as WAC’s director, Hallaren “was instrumental” in advocating for women to be fully integrated as “permanent regular members” of the military beyond just wartime, according to the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

Hallaren, who had originally enlisted in the military following the Pearl Harbor attack, later became the first commissioned officer in the Regular Army, not a medical role, in 1948, according to the Army’s Center of Military History.

“To me there was no question that women should serve,” Hallaren said, as reported by the New York Times.

Marcella A. Hayes became the first black female to receive aviator wings in the U.S. Armed Forces in November 1979 when she completed Army helicopter flight training at the U.S. Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama. (Army)

Marcella Hayes, who began her military career as an ROTC cadet at the University of Wisconsin, became the first Black female pilot in the U.S. military in 1979. She graduated Army Flight School at Fort Rucker, Alabama, earning her paratrooper badge during her training as a helicopter pilot, the Army Women’s Foundation reported.

Hayes became the 55th woman to earn her pilot wings, before being assigned to the 394th Transportation Battalion in Germany, the unit’s first black soldier and first woman leader. She went on to marry Dennis Ng, also in the Army, retiring in 2000 as a lieutenant colonel.

Linda Bray

Capt. Linda L. Bray, 29, from Butner, N.C., with the 988th Military Police Company from Fort Benning, Ga., poses in the Army’s Quarry Heights base in Panama City Jan. 3, 1990. She led 30 MPs in an attack on Panamanian Defense Forces kennels the night of the American invasion, resulting in intense combat with PDF soldiers and a cache of weapons captured. (AP)

Capt. Linda Bray was one of over 700 women to participate in Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989, as she led the 988th Military Police Company, according to the Army. There, she became the first woman to command American soldiers in battle, a trailblazing role that launched a reflection about women in the military.

“I joined the Army for the excitement, the challenge, the experience and loyalty to my country,” Bray said at the time, according to the New York Times. “I haven’t been let down a day.”

Bray’s role in combat forced the U.S. military to reevaluate their prohibition on women in the role, which ultimately culminated in an end to the ban by then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta in 2013, the Seattle Times noted.

Kristen Griest & Shaye Haver

1st Lt. Shaye Haver, left, and Capt. Kristen Griest talk on the phone Aug. 20 with Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who called to congratulate them on being the first women to earn the Ranger Tab. (Patrick A. Albright/Army)

Capt. Kristen M. Griest and 1st Lt. Shaye L. Haver became the first two women to complete Army Ranger School and earn their Ranger tabs in 2015. Both graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, the two soldiers became the first females of over 77,000 tabbed soldiers since the Ranger School’s inception in 1950, according to an Army story.

Griest was a military police platoon leader, and Haver was an AH-64 Apache pilot, who both looked at Ranger School as the highest challenge to prepare them to lead soldiers.

“The reasons I chose to come were the same as the men here: to get the experience of the elite leadership school and to give me the opportunity to lead my Soldiers the best that I can,” Haver told the Army at the time. “I think if females continue to come to this course, they can be encouraged by what we have accomplished, but hopefully they’re encouraged by the legacy that the Ranger community has left.”

Since Griest and Haver shattered this barrier, over 30 female soldiers have earned Ranger tabs, including enlisted soldiers and National Guardsmen, Army Times reported.

Ann E. Dunwoody

Army Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody was pinned by Chief of Staff of the Army General George W. Casey, left, and her husband Craig Brotchie during her promotion ceremony at the Pentagon, making history as the nation’s first four-star female officer. (Petty Officer 2nd Class Molly A. Burgess/DoD)

Retired Army Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody became the first woman to reach a four-star officer rank in the history of the United States military in 2008. Dunwoody, who led Army Materiel Command before her retirement in 2012, remained a pioneer throughout her decades-long service. In 1992, she became the first woman to command a battalion in the 82nd Airborne Division during the First Gulf War, according to the Purple Heart Foundation.

“I have never considered myself anything but a soldier. I recognize that with this selection, some will view me as a trailblazer,” Dunwoody said on her promotion at the time. “But it’s important that we remember the generations of women, whose dedication, commitment and quality of service helped open the doors of opportunity for us today.”

Dunwoody was a fourth-generation Army officer, and she released a book on leadership in 2015.”

8 Military Women Who Changed History

About Dylan Gresik

Dylan Gresik is a reporting intern for Military Times through Northwestern University’s Journalism Residency program.

THERE ARE NO WINNERS IN WAR

 

Military Veterans Can Jump-Start Careers In IT With This New, Free Program

Veteran and Apprenti graduate Mike Cooper addresses the crowd at the 2018 Amazon Apprenti graduation. Also in attendance (from left to right) was Apprenti Executive DirectorJennifer Carlson, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Ardine Williams, Amazon’s senior vice president of business operations. (Photo provided by Apprenti

“MILITARY TIMES”

“Many veterans face a frustrating catch-22 upon exiting the military: Most jobs require experience, but it’s almost impossible to get experience without a job.

That’s where a program like Apprenti comes in. It removes the burden of experience and education by immediately placing qualifying veterans in relatively well-paying technology apprenticeships, where they will learn the skills required to succeed in the industry.”

________________________________________________________________________

“A lot of those who come to us are not prepared to go back to college for four more years and use their GI Bill that way,” said Jennifer Carlson, executive director of both Apprenti and the Washington Technology Industry Association Workforce Institute, based in the state of Washington.

“They want to go to a job,” she continued. “This is a great transition point with a much more accelerated time investment to a career.”

It’s a simple process: Veterans take a free online assessment that tests them on both basic math abilities and soft skills like leadership qualities and critical thinking. They have two tries to pass it and must wait three months before trying again if they don’t.

Once they pass, the top one-third of candidates will be offered interviews at tech companies including but not limited to industry giants like Microsoft and Amazon. They will stay in this apprenticeship — earning a median salary of $51,000 per year, plus benefits — for a minimum of one year, and if all goes well, they will be offered a permanent job upon graduation.

The program is GI Bill-eligible, so veterans will be able to use the benefit to pay for living expenses. And some of the larger companies Apprenti places candidates in are even willing to help out with university tuition for veterans seeking a more formal education once they are hired on full-time.

According to Carlson, 85 percent of the participants Apprenti places are retained by the company with which they did their apprenticeship. She also said that 46 percent of placements begin the program without a degree of any kind, but they still land jobs with titles like software developer and system administrator.

“These are middle-skills jobs, not entry-level ones like a help desk,” she said. “These are jobs that have natural career progressions, and you’re going to grow with your company.”

These apprenticeships are different from internships, which usually require affiliation with a university, only last about three to five months and tend to be less focused on doing one specific job.

None of that applies to these apprenticeships, which are open to anyone 18-and-over, last at least a year and ensure you receive training in the role in which the company hopes to retain you.

“You are a hire. You are in that job. The company is paying you a training wage, which is where you get to earn and learn,” Carlson said. “Internship is try-before-you-buy, and apprenticeships are train-to-retain.”

A group of Apprenti participants pose in 2017 before they embark on their one-year apprenticeships with Amazon’s web-services division. (Photo provided by Apprenti)

Apprenti has only been around since late 2016, but Carlson said that the number of graduates these companies keep has already grown from a “handful or two” to the hundreds. She expects to place over 450 apprentices in tech jobs around the country in 2019.

Carlson said that 58 percent of Apprenti placements are veterans, many of who are feeling stuck, despite often having professional experience and some education.

“When we look at where competency lies, you have a lot of people who choose to go to second-tier colleges and who are working while in school,” Carlson said. “They have skills, they did the college thing, they just didn’t do STEM. So they have the competency to do the work, but they have no pathway in, short of going back to school and taking on that debt.”

The other part of this equation is the boon to the tech sector, which Carlson described as being severely understaffed across the board. She said that the industry currently has 2 million vacancies, yet only 65,000 students a year are graduating with the necessary computer-science degrees to fill those roles.

Through her experience with the group based in Washington state, Carlson determined that tech companies were reeling both from this labor shortage and a lack of “people who were actually work-ready coming to them, which they didn’t feel many college students were.”

Enter Apprenti.

“Our thesis is that we can find highly competent people, without regard to pedigree,” Carlson said.

So, if you’re a veteran unsure what to do next and are interested in tech jobs — or just want to find work with benefits that could pay a median annual salary of $78,000 after a year of on-the-job training — Apprenti might be exactly what you need to jump-start a new career.”

https://rebootcamp.militarytimes.com/transition-tips/education/2019/02/12/no-experience-no-problem-vets-can-jump-start-careers-in-it-with-this-new-free-program/