Fort Campbell campus one-stop-shop for transition services, spouse employment

By Stephanie Ingersoll, Fort Campbell CourierApril 30, 2021

Veronica Ashford, Career Skills Program counselor, talks to Sgt. William Slade and Sgt. Ibrahim Kargbo, both assigned to 550th Engineer Detachment, 887th Engineer Support Company, 326th Engineer Battalion, 101st Division Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), about career programs April 22 at the new office for the Career Skills Program, 5663 Screaming Eagle Blvd., next door to the Transition Assistance Program.
Veronica Ashford, Career Skills Program counselor, talks to Sgt. William Slade and Sgt. Ibrahim Kargbo, both assigned to 550th Engineer Detachment, 887th Engineer Support Company, 326th Engineer Battalion, 101st Division Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), about career programs April 22 at the new office for the Career Skills Program, 5663 Screaming Eagle Blvd., next door to the Transition Assistance Program. (Photo Credit: Stephanie Ingersoll) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. – A shaded sidewalk, shared parking lots and dedicated transition and employment counselors bring together the Transition Assistance Program, Spouse Employment Center and Career Skills Program into a newly consolidated complex, the Transition and Employment Services Campus.

The Transition Assistance Program, or TAP, 5661 Screaming Eagle Blvd., remains the centerpiece of the campus.

Anne Fugate, TAP manager, said having the Spouse Employment Center on one side to serve military spouses, and Career Skills Program, or CSP, on the other side, means the many programs geared at helping transitioning Soldiers, military spouses and veterans are more convenient, visible and offer more space for classes and employment events.

Spouse Employment Center

The Spouse Employment Center is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday and recently relocated to 5662 Screaming Eagle Blvd.

“We help connect military spouses to resources, jobs and partners and local organizations that can help them overcome employment barriers and find meaningful employment while they are here at Fort Campbell,” said Holly Nusom, Spouse Employment Center employment services counselor. “The Army has prioritized military spouse employment and Fort Campbell has shown they are invested in that with this dedicated Spouse Employment Center.”

The center’s staff provides individualized support and guidance to help spouses find employment or to advance in their careers. They offer resume critiques, mock interviews, career advice and help match candidates with potential employers. They also host periodic job fairs like the Open Air Job Fair that was rescheduled for May 6.

There also is classroom space available for federal job resume workshops and other topics that may benefit spouses, as well as office space that allows counselors to spend time with clients, Nusom said.

“Before we were able to talk about programs and websites, but now we have the capability to explore those websites with a spouse,” she said.

Nusom and Fugate said there has already been an uptick in walk-in clientele.

“We have a more prominent location now, so we’re easier to access,” Nusom said.

Walk-ins are accepted, but appointments are preferred.

To make an appointment at the Spouse Employment Center, call 270-412-1720.

Career Skills Program

Another big move puts the Career Skills Program at 5663 Screaming Eagle Blvd., which is convenient for many of the Soldiers who use TAP next door, Fugate said.

The Career Skills Program is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, with offices located in the front of the building, said Teresa K. English, Region I Career Skills Program coordinator at Fort Campbell. The pro-gram serves Soldiers who are within 180 days of transition from the Army.

The Fort Campbell Career Skills Program offers 14 career skills programs, while the Army Career Skills Program provides more than 224 programs nationwide.

“We are a one-stop resource for Soldiers, spouses and veterans to come and look at how they can get some kind of training opportunity or skills to be able to either enhance their careers or to start their new career, post-military life,” English said.

The building is under renovation, so some partner agencies such as USO Pathfinder and Campbell Strong Workforce Partnership will not be in their offices until the fall. USO Pathfinders is working out of USO Fort Campbell, 6145 Desert Storm Ave. For more information, call 270-985-8547 or visit USO.org/transition. Campbell Strong is working out of the Clarksville office at 101 Ringgold Road. For more information, call 931-802-2176.

English said the Career Skills Program works closely with partners like the Spouse Employment Center, TAP and other agencies to develop career skills and assist with employment.

“We are one big Family,” she said. “The services have not stopped. We are going to have more room and it will be improved so we can have more partners and more services offered in this building. In the meantime, we are here and the Career Skills Program team is happy to serve customers.”

Walk-ins are accepted daily. For more information, call 270-798-4974, 270-798-3195, or 270-412-1128.

Transition Assistance Program

For TAP, the space allocation to the Spouse Employment Center and the Career Skills Program made more room for its staff to work with Soldiers. TAP is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

“We’re here to help Soldiers meet the mandatory requirements in terms of making their post-military plans but we have a lot more to offer than just the minimum,” Fugate said. “Basically, if a Soldier has an idea of what they would like to do, we can help them identify where they’re starting at, where they want to go and the steps they need to take in the meantime to get there.”

Working with partners often helps Soldiers find the right training program, equipment and mentor-ship, fellowship or internship to get them started in a new career field.

Those connections have been developed, cultivated and are getting stronger constantly.

“What I’m so excited about is that we’re in a position now that a great program is going to get even better because we’ve got room to grow now,” Fugate said.

For more information, call 270-798-5000 or visit the Fort Campbell Transition Assistance Program Face-book page at https://www.facebook.com/FortCampbellSFLTAP.