The U.S. Army's Career Skills Program will soon be helping Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall service members find civilian employment as they get ready to transition out of the service.
The program launched nationally earlier this year in cooperation with the Soldier for Life-Transition Assistance Program. It is designed to provide credentialing, training, apprenticeships and internships to active duty service members who will soon be leaving the service in hopes that these opportunities will result in job offers or valuable resume building experiences as service members prepare to enter civilian life. The program is open to all service members, but Soldiers have priority.
Deon Boyce, Career Skills Program coordinator for Area 2, which comprises the East Coast from South Carolina to New Jersey, said the JBM-HH CSP is still in the coordination stage, looking for organizations and companies with which to partner for credentialing and internship opportunities.
"It allows a great partnership and shows that those organizations care about those service members, but it also gives those service members their full educational benefit that they can still use once they leave the service," Boyce said during an interview with the Pentagram.
Although nothing has yet been finalized, Boyce said the CSP office is working to set up a cybersecurity credentialing program in the National Capital Region, as well as job training and internship programs with financial institutions in the area.
According to Boyce, CSP hopes to have one program stood up in the National Capital Region by October, and others operational within six months.
Carlos Rodriguez, Transition Services manager for the joint base's transition program, said there is an evaluation process for these companies and organizations so that CSP can determine whether curriculum and internship details will be most beneficial to service members. Once the proper agreements have been finalized, then SFL-TAP will begin to advertise the available CSPs.
"There's a vetting process that will eventually allow us to have CSPs in the National Capital Region," Rodriguez said.
CSP is intended to be another program in the SFL-TAP toolbox to help service members find gainful employment once they're civilians, and according to Boyce, it gives Soldiers a good chance at post-transition job offers.
"It allows Soldiers to remain on active duty and they can go off post to receive the necessary training so they can have gainful employment once they transition out," he said.
Allowing service members to go off-site to other offices and locations during the workday will open them up to more opportunities than night-time or weekend programs, according to Boyce.
"It allows commanders to authorize service members to travel up to 50 miles to participate," he said. "So for the DoD area, we're really excited that one centrally located program may be able to support or provide services to two or three different military installations."
Rodriguez agreed that it would be an improvement to SFL-TAP's current roster of services.
"You have a Soldier who will go from a job to another job without a break," he said. "Soldiers can have a greater opportunity to avoid the stresses of unemployment. They're transitioning with job security or something to support their family. It's a big plus for our program."
According to Army Directive 2015-12, which outlines implementation guidance for CSP, "to be eligible to participate in a CSP and be released from daily unit duties, transitioning service members must have completed at least 180 continuous calendar days of active duty service in the Army and must expect to be discharged or released from active duty within 180 calendar days of the start date of participation in a CSP."
Boyce commended the Army's initiative to implement the Career Skills Program and the positive impact it would have on service members.
"Even if they don't receive a job offer once they complete the program, they'll have resume building characteristics or items to add," he said.
For more information about the Career Skills Program, visit http://go.usa.gov/3sKRG.
To read AD 2015-12 in full, visit www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/ad2015_12.pdf.
And for more information about SFL-TAP, visit www.jbmhh.army.mil/WEB/JBMHH/Services/ArmyCareerAlumni.html.
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