RSSIssue Date: June 30, 2003
Finance, medical fields show strength
By Karen Jowers
Times staff writer
The job outlook for military spouses this summer is a mixed bag, experts say, with the economy still sluggish but showing signs of turning around.
For military spouses, the difficulty in establishing contacts and getting information about the job market when moving to a new area might be balanced to some degree by companies? desires to support military families, some experts said.
?Since we mirror the civilian population, I would say that employment isn?t looking real good at the moment,? said Nancy Whitsett, manager of the family member employment program for the Army Community and Family Support Center.
To help spouses find what jobs are out there, she said, family member employment program managers at bases are doing more skills training for spouses and developing partnerships with local businesses.
Some partnerships with national civilian firms, as well as local partnerships at military installations, are creating opportunities. ?I?m seeing more and more job opportunities coming from the partnerships we have, which indicates the job market is on the rise,? said Natalie Galvin, manager of the family member employment assistance program at Marine Corps headquarters.
One such partnership is with Adecco, a staffing company with about 5,800 offices in 63 countries. The Navy and Marine Corps signed agreements with Adecco to provide job placement and training for spouses through their Career Accelerator program at their bases. This not only results in jobs but also offers continuity for spouses because they can work for Adecco at other locations and build up career benefits.
Adecco is also in talks with the Army and Air Force to bring programs to their bases, said spokeswoman Victoria Mitchell.
Adecco already is working informally with Army and Air Force spouses through its numerous offices around the country.
Mitchell said Adecco has received good feedback from companies about hiring military spouses. ?They want to support our military in whatever way they can,? she said. ?And if placing people in their companies can help people in even a small way, they?ll do that.?
Ted Daywalt, president of Vetjobs.com, said its job board has about 6,500 jobs posted by companies specifically interested in veterans and military spouses. Spouses can enter the site through their own portal and get specific information tailored to their needs.
Mitchell and others in the staffing industry point to Labor Department statistics that show an increase of 58,000 temporary positions in May.
?Often companies take on temporary workers as a prelude to hiring full time when they see the economy getting better,? Mitchell said. ?That?s a hopeful thing for the job market. Overall, it?s still slow, but there are signs like this that there may be a turnaround.?
Experts say industries that are hiring more people include financial; health care and medical; pharmaceutical; food service; residential real estate; and education.
nnnnMitchell said some skills in general demand include:
- Light industrial positions such as asFinance positions such as accounts payable and receivable, financial analysts, accountants, and collections personnel.
- Medical jobs such as billing personnel and biotechnology engineers.
- Call-center and customer service positions.
- Mortgage processors.
- Cooks and food servers.
The services? spouse-employment personnel have been focusing on trying to help spouses develop portable careers, and one area they?re targeting is virtual business.
Any military spouse can go to the Navy?s quality of life Web site, www.life lines2000.org/vbo, for information about opportunities and training. Some Air Force bases also train spouses to become virtual assistants and virtual business owners, said Debbie Laskiewicz, Air Force family support program operations manager.
Virtual assistants and business owners use various skills to develop businesses online.
Laskiewicz and other services? spouse-employment managers urge spouses to check with the base family member employment offices, which have connections with local businesses and information about training.
Programs vary from post to post. In Hawaii, for example, the Joint Employment Management System job bank gives service members, spouses, retirees and family members access to about 1,400 jobs in the local market through a password they obtain from their local family member employment office.
At Camp Pendleton, Calif., where few jobs are available, officials offer ?Spouse University classes? in a variety of areas.
At Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station, N.C., officials from the Employment Security Commission visit every Wednesday to register and help spouses looking for jobs.