Wenesday, February 25, 2015
What is it?
The U.S. Army Materiel Command’s (AMC’s) 1,000 Intern Initiative was designed to ignite a passion for federal service by providing 1,000 internship or outreach opportunities throughout AMC each year for the next five years.
By establishing earlier bonds with potential employees, AMC hopes to influence life-long career choices and expose high school and college students to service in the federal government and in particular, the U.S. Army.
What has the Army done?
The Army and AMC offer a wide range of intern opportunities that provide valuable experiences for high school and college students, as well as those who recently graduated from an accredited university. AMC intends to leverage existing intern hiring authorities and outreach opportunities to recruit and develop successive generations of Army Civilians.
Two primary intern programs include:
–The Student Intern Program provides current high school and college students with paid opportunities to work in agencies and explore federal careers while completing their education.
–The Recent Grads Program promotes federal careers to individuals who, within the past two years, earned an associate, bachelor, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from qualifying educational institutions, except for veterans precluded from doing so due to their military service obligation, who have up to six years after degree completion to apply.
What continued efforts does the Army have planned for the future?
Potential student employees often lack information about federal service opportunities and application procedures. To bridge that gap and to strengthen relationships with career counselors at universities, colleges, trade/vocational schools and other academic institutions, AMC will host its first ever Academia Day, March 20. The event will bring 120 post-secondary institutions to Huntsville, Alabama, for a daylong event to provide internship information and give counselors the tools and information to assist their students in finding and applying for federal jobs.
Working with Army leaders, AMC will build and strengthen an enduring intern program, using the Academia Day as a platform to roll-out the AMC Intern Initiative and to host Academia Days at each AMC Center of Excellence throughout the U.S.
Why is this important to the Army?
AMC, with a 64,000-strong workforce of highly skilled professionals, needs a diverse mix of employees with fresh 21st century talent to man, train and equip the Army of 2025 and beyond. Thirteen percent of the Army workforce is retirement eligible, and that percentage is expected to more than double in five years. Today, we have a window of opportunity to thwart that trend by encouraging federal service with the Army.
Resources:
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