Employment Resources for Our Military Community

Today’s Military Spouses are skilled, diverse, and motivated, with sound work values and a strong work ethic.

The majority of spouses of our military members, though, are currently actively seeking employment.

Returning home

At a glance-

  • 95% of the 1.2 million military spouses are women.
  • 85% of military spouses either want or need employment currently, and there is a 26% unemployment rate among them (1 in 4 spouses are without work).
  • There are 750,000 Active duty spouses – over half are under 31 years old.
  • 84% of spouses overall have some college, including a Bachelor’s degree (25%) and a post-graduate/advanced degree (10%).
  • Military spouses are also special because of their frequency of relocation – military families move 14% more often than their civilian counterparts.

Luckily, there is now a resource that we hope will help make the transition to a new job or phase of your professional life a bit simpler:

For Military Spouses

Military Spouse Employment Partnership The Military Spouse Employment Partnership is designed to help military spouses access career resources and connect with corporations who are ready to help spouses explore career options for their mobile lifestyles.

Here military spouses can find access to such services as career and education counseling, coaching on how to determine the career field that will be a great fit for you, as well as guidance on how to prepare and land employment, job search assistance, support for drafting and formatting your resume, and financial assistance referral.

In addition, MSEP has already partnered with numerous Fortune 500 PLUS companies (“Plus” refers to smaller community-based, local companies), working to aid military spouses in finding and identifying portable jobs at great businesses, as well as reduce the wage gap between military and civilian spouses. Military spouses are resilient team players and strong leaders – all of the qualities essential for a 21st century workforce.

Spouses, check out www.msepjobs.com to get started!

If you are a company and would like to learn more on how you, too, can become a partner with MSEP, please visit the MSEP Partners section of their website for an online application and other details.

There are also other members of our military community that are dealing with employment needs in their day to day lives. Here are some helpful resources for individuals who are not spouses:

Returning home

For Military Family Members

Often times other members of military families find themselves in need of employment or a new career path in order to help support their families.

Whether it’s the child of Active-duty parents or a grandparent who is caring for the children of a deployed Service member, Military OneSource’s Education and Career page is a great resource. There you can reach trained career counselors and gain assistance on employment readiness, career development, and education/training resources.

For Wounded Warriors

Wounded Warriors transitioning out of the military are often faced with their own set of distinct challenges in seeking employment as well.

  • 87 million Wounded Warriors were unemployed in 2010.
  • The unemployment rate for Wounded Warriors is 50% higher than their able-bodied counterparts.

There are a few helpful program which can assist them in the process. These include Military OneSource’s Wounded Warrior Resource Center, Employment and Education Initiative, Operation Warfighter. Please visit them for information on internships, job search assistance, and any other employment-related transition needs.

Job Fairs for Veterans & Spouses

In addition to the opportunities afforded through MSEP, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hiring our Heroes program is a year-long nationwide effort to help veterans and their spouses find meaningful employment. The Chamber started the program in partnership with the Department of Labor Veterans Employment and Training Service (DOL VETS), to improve public-private sector coordination in local communities, where veterans and their families are returning every day. For more information on employment opportunities through the Hiring our Heroes program, please visit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce  - JOB HIRING FAIRS.

As part of its Hiring our Heroes program, the US Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Military Spouse job fair in Fort Hood, TX on March 28. To learn more, visit:  http://www.uschamber.com/hiringourheroes/Fort%20Hood-TX

On April 24, 2012, the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) will host its largest carreer fair of the year at the DC Convention Center.  For additional information and to register, visit www.Moaa.org/spousesymposium.

For any questions on the employment resources and information listed here, please email ourmilitary@osd.mil.