Posts Tagged Spouse employment
Leaders Aim to Ease Spouse Employment Woes
Posted by in Family Matters on February 16, 2012
By Elaine Sanchez
Feb. 16, 2012
Military spouse Ann Wells speaks during a Pentagon ceremony to discuss a study on military spouse employment, Feb. 15, 2012. First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, released the report, which focuses on ways to ease employment barriers for active duty spouses, including streamlining licensing requirements that vary by state. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett
Army spouse Ann Wells has firsthand experience with one of the most pressing employment challenges for military spouses: obtaining an occupational license after a move.
Wells has moved her family at least 10 times during her husband’s 32-year military career, and at each stop the registered nurse struggles to resume work — not due to a lack of training or experience, but because of lengthy and complicated occupational licensing procedures. In one state, she said, the process was so difficult she decided to forgo her efforts during that assignment.
First Lady Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey unveiled a new report yesterday aimed at removing barriers for spouses struggling to obtain occupational licenses.
The Defense and Treasury departments produced this report to offer states a roadmap they can use to streamline or expedite licensing procedures.
Speaking from the Pentagon, Obama said she and Biden have heard of these issues at every stop they’ve made to speak with military families. “It is the No. 1 issue that military spouses tell us about,” she said.
Career Fair to Focus on Military Spouses
Posted by in Family Matters on January 9, 2012
By Elaine Sanchez
Jan. 9, 2012
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is hosting a career fair in Washington, D.C., this week dedicated solely to helping military spouses find jobs.
The Hiring Our Heroes – Military Spouse Career Forum will feature a host of national and local employers specifically seeking qualified military and veteran spouses, as well as resume and interview coaching, and resources for starting a business. The forum is scheduled for Jan. 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
Spouses of active duty and reserve members, retirees, veterans and fallen service members are welcome to attend.
Job seekers and employers can register for this free event and learn about other chamber-sponsored career fairs around the country at hoh.greatjob.net. Be sure to upload your resume when registering. For assistance with registration, email hiringourheroes@uschamber.com.
The Chamber of Commerce launched the Hiring Our Heroes program last year. This yearlong, nationwide effort is aimed at helping veterans and spouses find employment, with a goal of conducting 100 hiring fairs across the country.
The chamber also is involved with the Wounded Warrior Transition Assistance Program, Student Veterans Internship and Employment Program and a Women Veterans and Military Spouses Employment Program.
This “aggressive agenda,” officials noted on the chamber’s website, “focuses on one measure of success: jobs for the 1 million unemployed veterans in America.”
Fashion Guru to Share Style Tips
By Elaine Sanchez
Elaine.sanchez@dma.mil
Oct. 22, 2011
I was talking to a fashion-savvy colleague of mine the other day when the topic, as it so often does with us, turned to fashion.
As my ever-chic colleague informed me about this season’s “in” skirt lengths, I admired her perfectly put-together outfit — and subtly tried to hide my clunky work pumps under my desk.
Karen is that ever-elusive office style maven who, with seemingly little effort, manages to mix and match prints and patterns, silks and knits, to the envy of the rest of us who are still trying to figure out if our belt, shoes and purse are supposed to match.
Fortunately, she’s more than willing to share her tips with fashion-challenged people, such as myself. She also, as I recently learned, freely shares her passion for fashion with a very deserving group of people: troops who are leaving military service and entering the job market.
After a decade or two of camouflage and boots, Karen is happy to offer these service members some advice on building a budget-friendly and appropriate wardrobe for today’s workplace, courtesy of her home business called “Work It!”
I’m not surprised that this former soldier and current Defense Department civilian is offering fashion makeover and closet overhauls to transitioning troops — this strong sense of service is almost synonymous with the term “military families.” But I am impressed that she’s able to manage that while juggling a full-time job, two 12-year-olds and a retired Army husband who continues to serve as a DOD civilian.
Karen now has impressed me on an even grander scale.
She has offered to share her fashion know-how with Family Matters readers through a series of guest blogs. In the coming months, she’ll cover everything from appropriate interview and work attire to what to wear on a date or girls’ night out to finding the perfect-fitting pair of jeans on a budget.
Whatever the issue, Karen will be sure to help with her keen eye for fashion, radar sense for sales and her uncanny knack for finding the perfect fit for people of all shapes and sizes.
Her goal, she said, is to “make you look amazing at any price point.”
Not convinced? Check out Karen’s first Family Matters post: “Yes, Those Pants Make Your Butt Look Huge, But Why Listen to Me?”
And please submit your most perplexing fashion questions to Family Matters blog or email me at Elaine.sanchez@dma.mil. Karen either will answer the question via email or address the issue in an upcoming blog.
With the holidays and a host of parties approaching, I know I’ll have a few questions myself. Happy shopping!
Blogger Finds Passion for Fashion
Posted by in Family Matters on October 22, 2011
Guest blogger Karen Nowowieski is the founder of “Work It!” — a home business that provides free style makeovers to service members transitioning out of the military. This former soldier and current Defense Department civilian has offered to share her fashion know-how with Family Matters readers through a series of guest blogs. In the coming months, she’ll cover everything from appropriate interview and work attire to what to wear on a date or girls’ night out.
Yes, Those Pants Make Your Butt Look Huge, But Why Listen to Me?
By Karen Nowowieski
Oct. 22, 2011
Karen Nowowieski
I’ve been going through some fashion blogs trying to get a feel for my new stint as a fashion blogger. I had a couple of questions about each blogger as I read through them — age, background, etc. – and decided to answer those questions about myself so you can get to know me.
First of all, I’m no “fashionista,” style maven or any other name the tragically hip give each other. I grew up in rural Vermont. Remember the “Newhart” show? Larry, Darryl and Darryl are pretty representative of the population where I grew up.
Vermont is not known for its thriving fashion industry, and I was surrounded by red flannel and work boots. Dressing up, say for a wedding, called for your very cleanest red flannel and lightly ripped denim jeans.
I grew up with two (that’s two) TV stations and all the country music you could stomach. My mother, sadly, has a limited fashion sense. She had never been heavy so had no idea how to dress her heavy daughter. To this day I shudder at the sight of elastic-waist pants. But, other than the fact I knew I didn’t like how I looked, I had no idea how to go about looking better. Enter “Vogue” magazine.
The glossy pages were so inviting to me as a 15-year-old. Through this magazine, I saw beautiful people, colors and clothes, and so started my love affair with both fashion and, oddly, magazines.
I tried it all — neon, grunge, big hair, big makeup, too short skirts and too long pants. If there’s a fashion mistake to be made, I’ve made it.
A beautiful woman at work has a great saying, “I don’t want to be loud AND wrong.” Picture me in a giant pink neon sweatshirt and one black glove and you can see what she’s getting at.
What I needed was one straight-talking friend to tell me I looked frightful (and too bright). Everyone needs a 100 percent honest friend to tell you how you look. That’s me. I’m just your average sarcastic working mom with two 12-year-olds, two dogs and a cat. I combine my New England practicality and critical fashion eye to tell people they could look better, and how to achieve that. There you have it: my fashion credentials.
Have a fashion question for Karen? Post your comments or questions on the Family Matters blog or email them to Elaine.sanchez@dma.mil.
Royal Couple Attends Spouse Hiring Fair
Posted by in Family Matters on July 14, 2011
By Elaine Sanchez
Elaine.sanchez@dma.mil
Family Matters blog: http://afps.dodlive.mil
July 14, 2011
Prince William and his wife, Catherine, arrive at a spouse and veteran hiring fair at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, Calif., July 10, 2011. DOD photo by Elaine Sanchez
A buzz filled the air as military spouses and veterans gathered to welcome a world-famous military couple to Sony Pictures Studios’ Stage 15 in Culver City, Calif. Prince William and his wife, Catherine, had decided to make a military spouse and veteran hiring fair the final stop of their whirlwind West Coast tour last weekend.
I watched from a riser as the royal newlyweds walked in to resounding applause, my view momentarily obstructed by a sea of camera-equipped smartphones and iPads held high by people eager to capture the moment.
They walked onto the stage and the Duke of Cambridge, also a search and rescue pilot in the Royal Air Force, addressed the crowd of more than 1,500 spouses and veterans and about 160 employers.
This event is about more than men and women in uniform, he said. “It is about our other halves — the half that makes the loved one’s duty and sacrifice possible and worthwhile. It is about you.”
The minute the royal couple left, spouses and veterans got back to the business at hand — finding a job. The fair, sponsored by ServiceNation: Mission Serve, the U.S. and Los Angeles Area Chambers of Commerce, and the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry, was the largest of 100 spouse and veteran hiring fairs slated to take place across the country over the next year.
Spouses and veterans quickly crowded potential employers’ booths, resumes and pens in hand. I randomly picked a few out of the crowd to interview and was instantly impressed at their credentials. I spoke to spouses with master’s and doctorate degrees, and to veterans with extensive experience leading people and managing equipment.
One attendee I spoke to, Melissa Burton, an Air Force veteran and now an Air Force spouse, said she would like to bring both her education and Air Force experience to bear.
“It’s a great thing to find companies willing to work with us,” said Burton, who recently earned her master of business administration degree and whose husband is stationed at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. “I lived in Okinawa for a few years, and it was hard; it took me about a year to find a job. I’m looking forward to what this day will bring me.”
The employers seemed just as eager to connect with the job seekers. Spouses and veterans have the skills they need, many told me, from flexibility to punctuality to organizational expertise.
Ross Cohen, director of ServiceNation: Mission Serve and a military veteran, called veterans and military spouses “civic assets” who possess an “extraordinary set of skills and experiences.” Employers need resourceful and reliable employees, and veterans and military families are just that, he said.
“The bottom line is companies and nonprofits and government should be recruiting veterans and military spouses not because it is the right thing to do for the country, but because it is good for business,” he added.
For more on the hiring fair, see my American Forces Press Service articles, Royal Couple Visits Spouses, Veterans at Job Fair and Veterans, Spouses Laud ‘Hiring Our Heroes’ Job Fair.
For spouses who would like to explore employment opportunities and connect with employers, visit the Military Spouse Employment Partnership website.
Navy Wife Lauds Employment Program
Posted by in Family Matters on July 6, 2011
Vivian, a Navy veteran and spouse, regularly guest blogs for Family Matters and shares her experiences as a wife of a sailor and a mother of two. Her husband, a Navy lieutenant, recently returned from a deployment, and she has two boys who, she says, “enjoy peanut butter, trucks and air shows.”
By Vivian
July 6, 2011
Family Matters Blog
Last week I attended the Military Spouse Employment Partnership launch at the Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. The MSEP is an amazing program, spearheaded by the Defense Department’s office of military community and family policy, that’s designed to connect military spouses to careers by creating a gateway for military spouses and corporate and nonprofit organizations to interact.
Military spouses can search for job opportunities on the MSEP website, which hosts a database drawn from the partnering employers. One sure sign of the strength of the initiative is that there are already over 70 employers who have joined the partnership, including heavy hitters such as Microsoft, Johns Hopkins Medical, Amazon.com, Bank of America and Booz Allen Hamilton.
To become a partner, these companies have to be vetted, which includes signing a statement of support that includes tangible metrics such as committing to post job openings on the MSEP web portal; offering transferable, portable career opportunities to relocating military spouses; and, perhaps most effectively, documenting and providing employment data on military spouses actually hired.
The care and thought that went into creating this partnership is evident when you look at military spouse employment statistics. According to the Defense Manpower Data Center, 85 percent of military spouses want or need to work, but military spouses have an unemployment rate of 26 percent – the national average is around 9 percent. And, the military spouses who are employed earn 25 percent less than their civilian counterparts.
These numbers aren’t surprising to military spouses, who often find themselves unemployed, underemployed, or crunching the numbers to decide whether it is worth attempting to find a job in a new location, taking into account deployments, a permanent change of station, and affordable, quality child care options. The numbers also support findings from last year’s Blue Star Families survey, where 49 percent of spouses felt that being a military spouse had a negative impact on their ability to pursue a career. Additionally, of spouses who felt their careers had been negatively impacted by their military affiliation, 13 percent felt they had experienced some type of discrimination because of their status as a military spouse.
It is because of these disheartening statistics that one of the best aspects, perhaps THE best aspect of the MSEP, is the shifting paradigm of the worth and conception of military spouses in the professional field. Too often, as the statistics highlight, being a military spouse is seen as a disadvantage, as something to hide, or considered a liability during the hiring process.
Deborah Mullen, wife of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, speaking at the launch, said more than one spouse had told her, “All I wanted was to get in the door to be able to be judged on my merits, my qualifications, and strengths.”
Mrs. Mullen continued, highlighting an oft-heard sentiment in the military spouse community, “This isn’t about entitlement, it is about opportunity.”
Because military spouses DO have the qualifications, the drive, and the capability to be huge assets and resources to their employers, if only given a chance. Essential work force attributes like being responsible, mature, flexible, adaptive and resilient, team members, leaders, and the ability to work well under pressure are, coincidentally, essential life skills that military spouses develop through the military family experiences of moving, volunteering, deployments and reintegration, all while balancing family, work and community commitments. As Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, said in her remarks at the launch, “The fact is, if you’re looking for hard-working, highly skilled, educated and dedicated employees, our military spouses are precisely the employees you need.”
As a military spouse, to see the paradigm shifting to a place where military affiliation is seen as an asset, and employers, both private and nonprofit, are actively seeking out military spouses because they see the potential for successful employees, is extremely empowering. The military community has relied on the innovative and intrepid nature of military spouses since … well, since there has been a military. And, no one in the military sphere would argue that spouses and families are the foundation of a strong military community and a sustainable military force. However, it is nice to see a burgeoning recognition in the civilian sector of the worth and merits of a largely untapped national resource – our military spouses.
I see a real potential in the MSEP, and the larger discussion surrounding it. It is a tangible outcome of our leaders within the DOD taking stock of what military spouses have been saying about employment issues and taking the lead, as only they could, to bring the all the major players like corporate America, the Chamber of Commerce, and other federal agencies to the table, and then combining that with thoughtful analysis of military spouse employment issues, reflecting valuable military spouse input. To adapt a famous Humphrey Bogart quote, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership.”
Spouses Praise New Employment Program
Posted by in Family Matters on June 30, 2011
By Elaine Sanchez
Elaine.sanchez@dma.mil
June 30, 2011
Military spouses Kristi Hamrick and Jennifer Pilcher talk with Deborah Mullen during the launch of the Military Spouse Employment Partnership at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., June 29, 2011. DOD photo by Linda Hosek
Yesterday, I attended the launch of the Defense Department’s Military Spouse Employment Partnership at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. Through this new program, officials hope to expand career opportunities for military spouses worldwide, and to recognize the numerous job skills and talents they bring to the table.
More than 70 employers already have signed on with the partnership, signifying their commitment to increase employment opportunities for military spouses, provide promotion opportunities to deserving spouse employees, ensure pay equity and spread the word about spousal support.
Partners also have pledged to post job opportunities on the Military Spouse Employment Partnership Web portal located on OurMilitary.mil.
After the ceremony, I spoke with several military spouses, who unanimously voiced their approval of this new program.
“We have very valuable skills to bring to the private sector, the public sector, the nonprofit sector,” said Navy spouse Vivian Greentree. “This employment partnership is just opening a door where there wasn’t one before, and the military spouses are going to rush through it.
“This is a very powerful message for military spouses who by and large feel mostly discriminated against because of their military spouse status,” she added.
Pamela Stokes-Eggleston, spouse of wounded warrior retired Army Staff Sgt. Charles Eggleston, recalled when her husband was recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. She was laid off at the time, and had a tough time finding a job with a wounded warrior husband, she said, and also was considered overqualified for most available jobs.
“There wasn’t this kind of support you see here today,” she said. “I’m excited as a spouse of a wounded warrior that MSEP is actually going. This is a good step in the right direction.”
Air Force spouse Sandy Cazares said she has changed careers several times during her husband’s 10-year military career. “It’s great to give military spouses the opportunity to actually be heard,” she said, “to be given the chance to be able to be recognized for our accomplishments, our education level, and also take into account the fact that it’s often out of our hands when we have to move.”
Her husband, she added, is preparing to deploy and she will have to pursue yet another career to provide a better work-life balance for their children.
“I think this is a great opportunity for all military spouses — a greatly underappreciated population in the military,” Cazares’ husband said. “Seeing that now, regardless of what base we move to around the world, she has opportunities is a great advancement for military spouses in general.”
Kristi Hamrick, an Air Force spouse who has moved 11 times in 17 years, agreed. “It will make our lives as military spouses so much easier, because right before you move, there’s that ramp up of getting that resume ready and all that on top of moving. If you can get a job where you have another job waiting on the other end … that would reduce so much stress.”
“I’m overwhelmed,” added Jennifer Pilcher, wife of Navy Cmdr. Eddie Pilcher. “I truly think it’s the first time in history that the military spouse has been recognized. To sit here and hear the program is for us is overwhelming and exciting.”
Barbara Thompson, director of the Pentagon’s office of family policy/children and youth, also lauded the new program. “We’ve had spouse employment programs over the years at family support centers, but this is the first organized program across the military services,” she said. “It’s leveraging all of the military services to get these corporations.
“This is just the opening for all America to step up to the plate to tap into this incredible work force.”
For more on this program, read my American Forces Press Service article, DOD Launches Military Spouse Employment Partnership, or visit ourmilitary.mil.
Program Opens Doors to Spouse Employment
Posted by in Family Matters on June 23, 2011
By Elaine Sanchez
Elaine.sanchez@dma.mil
June 23, 2011
With multiple moves and deployments to contend with, military spouses face considerable challenges when it comes to maintaining or advancing their careers.
They also come up against the high unemployment rate for military spouses — 28 percent, according to Defense Department officials. And, there’s a 25-percent wage gap compared to their civilian counterparts to consider. Yet, more than 80 percent of military spouses want to work, officials said, and bring much-needed skills to the table, such as team focus and a strong work ethic.
In the hopes of expanding job opportunities for spouses, the DOD is launching a new partnership June 29 that will connect spouses with employers actively seeking to hire them. Nearly 60 corporations and companies already have signed on with the Military Spouse Employment Partnership, and 14 more are set to sign on next week.
As part of the program, spouses will be able to search for prospective employers online at Military OneSource or by calling OneSource at 1-800-342-9647. In addition, they are invited to attend one of the 100 scheduled job fairs taking place around the country in the coming months, with the first to take place in Los Angeles on July 10.
For more on this partnership, read my American Forces Press Service colleague Terri Moon Cronk’s article “Partnership Links Military Spouses With Employers”
I plan to attend the partnership’s launch next week in downtown Washington, D.C. Be sure to check the Family Matters blog for all the details.
Officials Seek Spouse Input on Licensing
Posted by in Family Matters on February 7, 2011
Robert L. Gordon III is the deputy assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy. In this blog, Mr. Gordon encourages military spouses to share their state licensing experiences on a discussion board so officials can work toward streamlining procedures.
Military Spouses: State Licensing Process and Your Career
By Robert L. Gordon III
Military Community and Family Policy
Feb. 7, 2011
Military spouses, we need to hear from you! You are part of a talented and amazing work force, but as you know, military life can make it tough to maintain a career.
If your career field requires a state license or certification, then you know the process of renewing that license or certification can be time-consuming, cumbersome, expensive, and that process can vary from state to state. This can frustrate people in career fields like counseling, accounting and health care.
We are working to streamline licensing procedures. We want to make it easier for you to continue your career as you move, so we want to hear from you.
Please visit our discussion board and tell us your stories about transferring occupational or professional licenses. How long did it take? What barriers did you encounter? What delayed the process? Tell us what needs to change. We want to know what you think would shorten and simplify the process. Have a success story to brag about? We want to hear that too!
Last week, President Barack Obama unveiled a new, whole-of-government approach to military family support , with agencies uniting to create new resources and support programs for military families worldwide. Helping military spouses develop portable career opportunities in high-demand career fields is one of the nation’s four top priorities. Our goal of streamlining licensing procedures is part of that priority, so you can see just how important your feedback is.
This is one of many more blogs to come. We’ll be asking for your ideas and opinions on other topics. We look forward to hearing from you. You continually step up to life’s challenges with grace and strength. You truly serve, and the military is stronger for it. Thank you for your service.
Bound for Joint Family Conference in Chicago
Posted by Administrator in Family Matters on August 31, 2009
By Elaine Wilson, AFPS
Aug. 31, 2009
I’ll be traveling to Chicago later today to blog about the Defense Department’s first joint family readiness conference in nearly a decade.
About 1,500 helping professionals from every military service as well as active-duty and reserve components are expected to attend. Attendees work in a variety of areas including family support, children and youth, psychological health, health care, education and the chaplaincy.
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