The Departments of Defense and Labor announced today plans to jointly provide military spouses with opportunities to pursue portable careers in high-demand, high-growth occupations.  This two-year demonstration project, offered at 18 sites in eight states with large military populations, will enable military spouses to develop the skills needed to successfully enter, navigate and advance in the workforce. The military lifestyle calls for portable careers.

 

            “The Department of Defense has long been committed to helping military spouses pursue rewarding careers and removing barriers to employment,” said Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. “Spouses are called on to pack up and relocate the family often at the cost of their own careers.  This makes it difficult to navigate the career licensure and certification requirements that go with most professions.”

 

            These career advancement accounts will target nationally identified high-growth, portable occupations such as education, health care, information technology and financial services. 

 

             Military spouses may apply at the state one-stop career centers at participating installations’ voluntary education centers.  Eighteen initial installations identified to participate in the project include:  San Diego Metro and Camp Pendleton, Calif.; Fort Carson and Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.; Jacksonville Naval Air Station, Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field, Fla.; Fort Benning, Ga.; Hickam Air Force Base, Naval Base Pearl Harbor Schofield Barracks, and U.S.Marine Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine; Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base N.C.; and Fort Lewis, McChord Air Force Base, and Naval Station Kitsap, Wash.

            Additional information including eligibility determination, career and education counseling, and skills assessment will be available at each participating installation at the education center and the family support center and online at http://www.MilSpouse.org .