JULY 16-AUGUST 19, 2015 • THE CSRA’S MONTHLY BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Making the transition to civilian jobs AWP helps vets use their military skills in civilian workforce
D
By Gary Kauffman onald Terrell knows what it feels to be shot at after four deployments to Iraq and Bosnia. But in May he found himself facing something even more terrifying – getting a civilian job after 23 years of military service. “Oh, man, I was terrified,” he said. “More than once I joked with my wife that I’d rather be shot at than go through the civilian job market.” Fortunately for Terrell and others like him in the Augusta area, they don’t have to face that transition alone. For the past several years, the Augusta Warrior Project has been, in Terrell’s words, “a guardian angel” for those making the transition from the military to the civilian workforce. The Augusta Warrior Project could be viewed as a translation service – but instead of translating words from one language to another, they are translating military work experience into civilian employee potential. “We as service members don’t do a good job of selling ourselves with our resumes,” said Kim Elle, executive director of the AWP. “It’s a different language. When you come out to the civilian community you almost feel like a foreigner.” The Augusta Warrior Project has been serving both the military and civilian employers since 2011. In addition to finding employment, AWP also helps veterans with housing and education needs. Unlike the Wounded Warrior Project, which works only with those wounded post 9-11, AWP works with anyone who has served in the military, whether wounded or not. Helping veterans take the next step In its employment role, AWP helps veterans prepare for the culture shock of the civilian world. Terrell, 43, ranked as a 1st Sgt., E8 when he began the tranSee AWP, page 2
Augusta Warrior Project employment coordinator Tracy Mitchell works with a veteran in making the transition from the military to a civilian job. Photo contributed
Jobs available but area talent pool is shallow By Gary Kauffman Even as unemployment numbers fall back toward pre-recession numbers, the CSRA may be facing another unemployment crisis of a different kind. “The current supply, the workforce, for skilled industry is very low,” said Isaac Kelly, business development/safety coordinator for Augusta Staffing Associates. Dale LaPorte, co-owner of Acrux Staffing agreed that the pickings are getting thin as unemployment numbers shrink. “The biggest disappointment is in education and training, especially in the skilled areas,” LaPorte said. “Another disappointing
Skilled positions are hard to fill because of lack of right education area is background checks and being able to find candidates who haven’t been naughty in the past.” STEM skills high on priority list When the staffing agencies talk about the education issue, they aren’t referring just to a lack of a degree. Increasingly, the work environment is evolving to need skills that haven’t been taught on a concentrated basis in the schools. Many companies need em-
ployees with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills but those people are in short supply. Kelly noted that local schools are beginning to emphasize STEM, but are starting at the middle school level. That means a minimum of four years and perhaps eight or more years before those students join the workforce. That isn’t good news, considering projec-
tions are that the CSRA will have at least 37,000 jobs to fill over the next five years. “We’re going to fall short of the major demand, but then we’ll catch up,” Kelly said. “We’ll see a lot of companies scrambling to pull people from the outside or out of retirement until then.” He’s already seeing more companies offering relocation packages as an enticement to job candidates from outside the area. Other skills lacking as well But more than just the hard skills are lacking. April Harris, also of Acrux Staffing, See JOBS, page 46