Service members for life: building a productive workforce

Photo By Staff Sgt. David Beckstrom | The Washington State Military Transition Council met with the Albert Hanley...... read more read more

Photo By Staff Sgt. David Beckstrom | The Washington State Military Transition Council met with the Albert Hanley (speaking), the CEO of Troops into Transportation training program and company, on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, Aug. 8. During this meeting, they discussed the importance of training programs like this and how the skills the service members gain will enable them to obtain high demand jobs with better pay. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David N. Beckstrom, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, I Corps)  see less | View Image Page

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, UNITED STATES

08.08.2016

Story by Sgt. David Beckstrom 

5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment   

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For many service members, the military is their first nonpart-time job. As such, many service members don’t have much experience in writing resumes, nor do they have a large network of professional associates outside their military peers.

The Service Member For Life – Transition Assistance Program and the Washington State Military Transition Council are striving to change this by creating opportunities for those leaving the military to gain technical certifications civilian employers may require, and by providing them with a chance to network with civilian employers.

“The (Washington State Military Transition Council) is an executive council that Washington Governor Jay Inslee created with the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs and Joint Base Lewis-McChord in an effort to decrease the unemployment rate of veterans and grow the communities’ capabilities by helping service members bridge any gap there may be from military education, as well as certifications needed in the civilian sector,” said Robin Baker, transition service manager of the Bud Hawk Transition Center on JBLM.

More than a dozen Washington State Military Transition Council members visited JBLM Monday to meet with Lt. Gen. Stephen R. Lanza, the commanding general of I Corps, Col. Daniel Morgan, JBLM commander, SMFL-TAP program leaders and transitioning service members. This visit was a precursor to the third annual SMFL-TAP summit that will be held in October.

During the meeting, participants discussed ways to streamline the transition process. They also discussed how to make the program cover service members’ entire military career, from the time they join the military until their service is done and they are ready to rejoin the civilian workforce, according to Baker. SMFL-TAP and the Washington State Military Transition Council strive to ensure service members are ready to get high-paying jobs once they are out of the military.

“As we continue to grow this program and integrate our service members into the process at the earliest opportunity, we will not only be creating a better-prepared civilian workforce; we will also be able to better build the resources of our military,” Lanza said.

Another growth area for the transition assistance program is unemployed veterans who separated from the military before today’s more robust program existed.

“As we move forward, I want to afford the unemployed veterans who weren’t able to utilize this program an opportunity to participate in the training and strengthen their capabilities as well,” Lanza said.

During the JBLM visit, Washington State Military Transition Council members met with the programs’ beneficiaries to discuss how the current program could be refined to better meet the needs of the civilian workforce, said Baker. These changes will be announced at the SMFL-TAP summit later this year.

“The (SMFL-TAP) program will continue to evolve and be shaped by the needs of the civilian workforce sector,” said Alfie Alvarado-Ramos, the director of the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs. “We work with the service members as they are leaving the military to see what type of job would best suit them and their skill sets. We look at the whole person, from their personality to their background and their current skills, then we try to match them with the programs that will help them the most.”

The SMFL-TAP program provides many different levels of guidance and training.

“When I decided to transition out of the active component and into the Army Reserve, I calculated how much I would need to make in order to maintain the lifestyle that I had at that time,” said Sgt. Ryen Macababbad, 372nd Military Police Company, with the Army Reserve. “The skills that I had at the time would not have enabled me to meet that goal, so I looked into the different programs that were offered through the (SMFL-TAP) and I found the Microsoft Software Systems Academy. Through this program, I not only was able to land a job that was a perfect fit for me, but I have far surpassed my income goal.”

The Washington State Military Transition Council and the JBLM SMFL-TAP have created several initiatives and educational programs to help service members build upon their capabilities and to gain, in some cases, multiple certificates aimed to make themselves more prepared for the transition to civilian life.

“The programs that the (SMFL-TAP) and WSMTC have put together have changed my life and I will always be grateful for them,” Macababbad said. “If you are getting out of the military, I highly encourage you to look into these programs and see what you can accomplish.”

For more information about the JBLM SMFL-TAP program, visit sfl-tap.army.mil/default.aspx or call 253-967-3258. For more information about the WSMTC, visit dva.wa.gov/about-wdva/washington-state-military-transition-council-wsmtc or call 360-725-2237.