Submitted by Pacific Mountain Workforce Development
On January 12, sixteen transitioning service members from Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) began their 13 week fellowship through the newly launched Heroes Corporate Fellowship Academy. This one of a kind program will provide fellows an opportunity to learn through hands on experience with a corporate leader in the Seattle area, and additionally through 120 hours of in classroom corporate management training at City University of Seattle.
“The Fellowship Academy is a first in the nation program for transitioning service personnel. It represents the very best in collaboration between the military, the public workforce system and corporate America. The program matches talented individuals with the needs of our businesses. They previously served our country and now can serve the local economy….triple win!” – Cheryl Fambles, CEO of Pacific Mountain Workforce Development.
This Fellowship developed in partnership between Camo2Commerce, a program of Pacific Mountain Workforce Develop, and Hiring Our Heroes, a program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, will provide transitioning service members with at least 10 years of leadership experience the opportunity to gain familiarity in the civilian market prior to transitioning. Each of the Fellows will be hosted by a participating corporate partners – ThyssenKrupp Aerospace NA, Amazon, Starbucks, Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center, Compass Group, Thurston Economic Development Council, TrueBlue, Inc., Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, and Williams-Sonoma.
“The overarching goal in providing this enhanced educational fellowship opportunity with select industry partners is to provide a transition service that currently does not exist. The Heroes Corporate Fellowship Academy provides educational, networking, training opportunities, and potential employment within a wider array of industries for experienced transitioning service members.” – Justin Constantine, wounded veteran and senior consultant at the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes program.
Starting this week on JBLM, the 16 service members from the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, will be spending four days in the classroom beginning to transition their military leadership skills to what they will need for their next mission of working for corporate America. Following the first week through the end of the Academy, the Fellows will spend Monday through Wednesday with their host, learning through hands on experience. They will have the opportunity to not only learn about the company, and refine their networking abilities, but will be working on projects that will hone their skills. On Thursdays, the Fellows will be back in the classroom gaining additional knowledge that will supplement their learning in areas such as project management, business writing, and other topics necessary for success in their transition. Fridays will be available for each of the Fellows to continue their service obligations, and efforts needed to transition. The 13 weeks will culminate with a graduation.
Ultimately we believe this experience will enable these Fellows the opportunity to maximize their experience in serving us proudly by learning the skills needed to be successful in transitioning into careers in corporate America.
“This project could not be successful without the partnership with Hiring Our Heroes, as they provided much needed expertise that supplements, what Camo2Commerce brings to the table and, of course, the ongoing support from the Command Staff at JBLM, who saw the vision in this project. Along the way, we have also received support in developing this program from ThyssenKrupp Aerospace, the Washington State Employment Security Department, Combat Power Essentials, Tacoma-Pierce Chamber of Commerce, WorkForce Central and additional funding support from Operation: GoodJobs.” – Sean Murphy, Camo2Commerce Project Director.
Additional Information can be found at: Camo2Commerce.com/heroes/
Camo2Commerce: This full service transition program is a U.S. Department of Labor funded pilot project working to integrate the public workforce system into the JBLM transition process. Working with transitioning service members from JBLM on a one-on-one level, Camo2Commerce has successfully placed over 250 service members into employment.
Hiring Our Heroes: Hiring Our Heroes is a nationwide initiative to help veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses find meaningful employment. Working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s vast network of state and local chambers and other strategic partners from the public, private and nonprofit sectors, Hiring Our Heroes has helped hundreds of thousands of veterans and military spouses find meaningful employment
