Spouses of transitioning service members have access to a new tool that will assist with planning and preparing for employment.
Transition Employment Assistance for Military Spouses, or TEAMS, was launched by the Department of Labor (DoL) Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS), as a part of the Department of Defense’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP). Only a few installations were selected to host the course’s inaugural session last month; Fort Gordon was one of them.
Kimberly Stimpson, curriculum project lead with Serco, DoL VETS, said a part of the mission of VETS is to provide employment assistance to transitioning service members and their spouses.
“This year, they took that on more heartily and said, ‘What are we doing specifically for the spouses?’” Stimpson said.
In early 2020, DoL VETS After meeting with various mission partners, conducting needs analyses, and carefully considering the responses of several hundred military spouses’ surveys, it was determined that spouses might benefit from a curriculum similar to that of their transitioning service member.
“So what we did was we got into that curriculum, pulled out the pieces, and then tailored it to the spouse,” Stimpson said. “Now we’ve got some curriculum, we’re piloting it, and we’ll see where it goes from there.”
Workshops offered through TEAMS include Career Credentials, Marketing Me, Your Next Move, and Resume Essential. Each is about two to four hours long and focuses on challenges specific to military spouses, at all stages of employment.
Spouses who are unable to attend TEAMS workshops in-person have the option to take the courses online. Courses are conducted by live facilitators, and participation is capped at 30 registrants for each.
Angela Gaston, Transition Services manager, Soldier-for-Life Transition Assistance Program, encourages all spouses of transitioning service members to consider registering for one – or several – of the courses.
“The curriculum is great because it aligns with what the Department of Labor provides for transitioning service members; it’s just more dedicated to the spouses,” Gaston said.
Overall, Stimpson said she is thrilled about the program and feels optimistic about its future.
“It seems to have been well-received by the milspouse community thus far, but again, it’s a pilot,” Stimpson said. “We’ll take all of the comments we get back and see what happens from there.”
To enroll in a course or learn more information about TEAMS, visit www.veterans.gov/milspouses/events.
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