Through a Veteran's Eyes: The Transition of the Army Leader into the Civilian Workforce

Transcription

1 Portland State University PDXScholar Student Research Symposium Student Research Symposium 2013 May 8th, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Through a Veteran's Eyes: The Transition of the Army Leader into the Civilian Workforce Maria Carolina Gonzalez-Prats Portland State University Let us know how access to this document benefits you. Follow this and additional works at: Part of the Psychology Commons Maria Carolina Gonzalez-Prats, "Through a Veteran's Eyes: The Transition of the Army Leader into the Civilian Workforce" (May 8, 2013). Student Research Symposium. Paper This Event is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Research Symposium by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. For more information, please contact pdxscholar@pdx.edu.

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4 1) My own experiences transitioning from military to civilian life prompted me to ask 2) This question served as the inspiration for my research study 3

5 1) The limited scope of my thesis forced me to narrow my research to a specific demographic within a branch of service, so I chose the Army 4

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7 1) I drew data from two main sources a) Interviews with 10 Army Leaders 6

8 b) Interviews with TAP counselors TAP= partnership between Department of Defense, Department of Labor, Department of Transportation/Homeland Security Include but are not limited to: Coaching/Advising on: Resume writing Interviewing skills Job Search 7

9 5 MINUTE MARK PARTICIPANTS IDENTIFIED WHAT WAS MOST HELPFUL TO THEM 1) Congressional Mandate passed in 2002 allowing military service members to being transitioning: Two years out for those retiring (20 or more years of service) One year before separation they were given ample time by their supervisors to solely focus on transitioning 2) Support Network (family/friends=especially other military service members who have already made the transition) 3 and 4 The last two go hand in hand...the leaders that did their own research outside of the transitioning program and got an idea of the job market (transferability of skills, salary expectations, etc.) felt more prepared when they got out of the military 8

10 1) We mentioned the congressional mandate before of the 1 year and 2 year availability to transition the reality is that 90 days is the most common timeline (which is the bare minimum) that transitioning servicemembers get. 40% of the participants were transitioning under 90 days (to include one of the leaders who was retiring after 20 years) 2) Real and perceived quality of TAP services=not useful 3) Where they separate/retire from may add to difficulty, especially if they are stationed overseas (Germany, Korea) 4) Fork in the road: Do I continue with the occupation trained me for (ex Military police=continue with law enforcement, Supply/Logistics=Work retail supply chain) or do I go after a career I have always been interested in (going to culinary school, education, computer programming) 5) The participants reported receiving conflicting information about the benefits they were entitled to and resources available (those separating showed more confusion in this regard than the retirees as their briefing was more thorough) 6) Difficult to explain to employers (even with civilian friendly resume in hand) their 9

11 dynamic skill set and abilities. What to leave on resume/interview what to leave off sometimes downplaying military service alltogether 9

12 1) No uniform transitioning/compliance policies amongst branches of service, even in the same service (Army) Mission accomplishment the top priority often to detriment to focus on transitioning. This is especially the case with those in leadership positions. 2) It is estimated that less than 1% of the population serves in the military, contrasted with 8% during World War II. (Mettler, 2005) The Greatest Generation were likely to be received in the workforce by either someone who served or an immediate family member or neighbor. This commonality of service carried over to the service and experiences veteran being valued as assets in the workforce and education (G.I. Bill) 10

13 Stats to consider as we look to ways to engage and support our veterans veteran workforce transition goes beyond a veteran getting a job there are additional challenges for veterans that impact their lives 1) Current Vet unemployment rate is 10.9% (vs. 7.9% civilian counterparts) 2) Currently VA Backlog of service connected claims from 165 to 683 days (OR avg 315 days, Nat l Average 279) 11

14 Stats to consider as we look to ways to engage and support our veterans veteran workforce transition goes beyond a veteran getting a job there are additional challenges for veterans that impact their lives 1) Current Vet unemployment rate is 10.9% (vs. 7.9% civilian counterparts) 2) Currently VA Backlog of service connected claims from 165 to 683 days (OR avg 315 days, Nat l Average 279) 3) Service connected in 12

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