New guidelines for military spouse career program

The program was created by the U.S. Departments of Defense and Labor to help spouses begin and continue to advance in a career field which can sometimes be challenging due to the frequent moves required of military families.

The program offers funding to eligible military spouses for expenses related to postsecondary education and training including: tuition, books, equipment, credentialing and licensing fees in several different career fields. Candidates can receive up to $3,000 for one year which is renewable a second year for up to an additional $3,000.

During the event, several changes were announced providing more opportunities to military spouses interested in the program. "The program was originally limited to only spouses of E-1 through E-5 and O-1 to O-3 but that has been changed and all rank restrictions have been eliminated so all spouses of military members in all paygrades can now apply," said NAS Jax Navy College Director Jonathan Woods.

ABH3 Johonny Sarante and his wife, Mary talk with Work Source Senior Career Counselor Mary Ann Nabywaniec at the relaunch event for the Military Spouse Career Advancement Initiative about educational and career opportunities.

Another big change to the program is an expansion of the fields that spouses can enroll in to earn their certificates or degrees. In the past, only five fields were offered including healthcare, education, information technology, financial services and construction. Four more have been added including hospitality management, culinary management, criminal justice and homeland security.

New guidelines for military spouse career program"This is really a fantastic program. The people heading up this program have been listening to the needs and concerns of potential candidates and have responded with these changes. It's a huge plus for everyone. Because this is a pilot program, all rules are up for discussion and revision to continue to make is a great program," continued Woods. "And, I'm thrilled wit the turnout here today. Hopefully we'll get a lot more people enrolled."

To apply for the new program, spouses must first stop at the Navy College Office where they will meet with a counselor who will review their educational history, discuss their goals and create a record for them. If they don't have their prerequisites completed, they will be sent to one of the educational institutions on base to help them get started so eventually they do qualify for the program.

After visiting the Navy College Office, candidates and potential candidates meet with WorkSource State Veteran's Representative Gregory Spiro and WorkSource Senior Career Coach Conni Smolder, also in the Navy College Office, who will determine if their academic program fits into the initiative's guidelines.

Navy spouse Kawani Jakes gets some information about teaching credentials from WorkSource State Veterans Representative Greg Spiro at the Military Spouse Career Advancement Initiative relaunch event April 16.

Once approved for the program, a special account is created for the spouses and all monies are paid directly to the school they are attending. Another requirement is that they are stationed here for a year. After a year, they can transfer and continue their education with funding from the program.

Each client is closely monitored throughout the program by Spiro and Smolder. "When they first come to us, we discuss the process of the program, education direction they are headed and offer career coaching. We watch their progress throughout the program and when they graduate, we go to the phase two portion of the program which is finding them employment," added Spiro. "I'm an employment specialist so I help our clients find jobs through our networking sources. The ultimate goal of this program is to get people working. And then, once they start working, we continue to monitor them for about a year to gather data for the Department of Labor."

The final step of the qualification process is with the FFSC who will verify the service member's rate and transfer date. Once it is approved, an account is set up and they can begin taking classes.

And, finding a good paying job is why many spouses showed up at the relaunch event. "I'm here today because I'm searching for career change. I have a degree in business management. We just moved from Virginia where I was a deputy sheriff. I just don't want to do that here," explained Kawani Jakes, whose husband is stationed at NS Mayport and brought a flyer home about the event. "My son is 11 so I want to be home when he's home especially when my husband is out to sea."

"I'm here to get money for school. I'm have four more classes left to earn my degree and it will cost about $2,000 to finish my education. My husband went to the Navy College Office and picked up a flyer and brought it home so we could look into this program," added Mary Sarante. "If we qualify, it would be a lot of money we don't have to pay and I could finish my degree. I plan to get my degree in accounting and find a good job."

According to Career Advancement Account Project Manager Cindy Wadsworth, getting spouses educated so they can find high paying, successful jobs is the main goal and many tools are available through this program to help them achieve just that. "Our job is to make sure that what you do in training equates to a job that will be so portable and so much in demand that no matter where your next duty station is you'll have a very good chance of walking right into that job," she said. "We want to know if your game plan is the right game plan and if it's going to give you the degree, certification or licensing you need to be able to walk into that job and stay in that job when faced with another move."

"This program covers tuition, books, licensing fees, exam costs and tools needed for your new job. You just need to commit your time to do the training to become successful in this program," she told the group of spouses who showed up at the event.

"Many people ask why they are just being given money to finish school at no cost. This is a new program that has never been done before. The success of this program directly affects the military spouses who come behind you down the road. DoD and DoL want this program to branch out to all bases and to all military spouses. So, do well with your studies, because we want you to succeed and with your success comes the success of others later. That is the only obligation you have," she continued.

To be eligible for a career advancement account, spouses of military service members/sponsors must:

Be married to a service member/sponsor on active duty;

Be married to a service member/sponsor who is assigned to a demonstration site or reside in the state at the time of eligibility determination when the service member/sponsor spouse is deployed or on an unaccompanied military tour from a demonstration site;

Be married to a service member/sponsor with a minimum of one year remaining at the demonstration installation duty assignment; with the exception of duty assignments that will require relocation as part of the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 2005;

Not be receiving trade adjustment assistance or Workforce Investment Act funded individual training accounts.

For more information on the new program, go to www.MILSpouse.org or call 542-2477 or 542-2766, Ext. 146.