Posted by: By: Dan DeMaioNewton, Director of Strategy and Business Development at Monster Worldwide
In a previous series of posts on Unleash the Monster, we discussed the impact of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) on the local regions surrounding the affected military bases.
The BRAC program is designed to help curb military expenses, consolidate resources and enable America’s military to become faster and more flexible. However, the plan to close some bases and relocate others has some significant side effects on the surrounding region and their economy.
The loss of a base or the relocation of operations to other bases leaves a region with many civilians who are now without jobs. The addition of operations creates a need for a skilled and trained workforce to fill vacancies created by the relocation. Also, the addition of a large population of transitioning employees who followed their jobs to new locations creates a new need for infrastructure improvements, economic development and other challenges for a region.
One specific area that is currently struggling with the challenges created by BRAC is San Antonio, Texas. Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio is poised to become a premier medical complex and the largest medical training campus in the world thanks in part to the relocation of operations from Walter Reed Medical Center and other BRAC initiatives.
The end result has been a significant need to fill vacancies created by the move and train the local workforce in health care, bioscience, health care education, management support, communications, intelligence, security and technology.
In an effort to help move civilians into the jobs that are being created by BRAC initiatives, Workforce Solutions Alamo, the local workforce board, worked with Monster, the City of San Antonio, Lackland Air Force Base, Fort Sam Houston, Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph Air Force Base and Live Oak Economic and Community Development to host a Federal Job Information Exchange to stimulate interest in applying for federal employment through the USAJOBS Web site.
Funded by a Department of Labor BRAC grant, the Federal Job Information Exchange was not a job fair, but rather an educational opportunity where participants could learn to better use the USAJOBS site and work with experts to convert their resumes to fit the requirements for federal civilian employment announcements. This was intended to not only help entice job seekers to embrace public sector careers, but also help them apply for federal government jobs and get hired.
The Federal Job Information Exchange was considered an enormous success for those involved and in attendance. Multiple government entities and employers were present to discuss their mission and job opportunities with the more than 1,500 attendees, including:
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Alamo Federal Executive Board
- Air Force Personnel Center
- Air Force Civilian Services
- Installation Management Command
- Fort Sam Houston Civilian Personnel Advisory Center
The BRAC program is creating many challenges for regions both losing and receiving bases and military operations. The Federal Jobs Information Exchanges being run by Workforce Solutions Alamo are just one example of the ways that regions can utilize Department of Labor grants and public-private partnerships to help meet these challenges head on. Through workforce development and training, the BRAC-impacted region of San Antonio will hopefully fill its vacancies quickly and efficiently, and begin working towards accomplishing its mission.
Fri, May 21, 2010
State & Local