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For many Sailors approaching the end of their enlistment, separation can be a time of incredible anxiety. Whether you have been in for four years or 30, the transition to the civilian sector is daunting.
Fortunately, the Navy offers the Transition, Goals, Planning, and Success workshop, or TGPS.
“It is 100 percent mandatory for every separating service member, enlisted and officer, to attend, and is part of the Val Compliance act of 2011, where the military is trying to ensure that veterans are more prepared for the civilian sector,” said Chief Navy Career Counselor Jason Sain, from Fort Meyers, Florida, assigned to USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) administration department. “It just gives them skills to rely upon for when they separate.”
Sailors are required to take certain steps prior to participating in the course.
“The first thing you are going to do is a pre-separation brief, which is held on board monthly,” said Sain. “Then you contact your divisional career counselor to do a request for attending the class, and they will help you route all of the paperwork and get you signed up.”
Sain says that since implementing the course, it has had a definite impact on transitioning Sailors.
“I think it’s a huge difference because most transitioning Sailors have never built a resume or ever applied for a job other than going into the recruiting office,” said Sain. “So just knowing how to build a resume and properly interview is huge.”
Senior Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) David Bonds, from Los Angeles, assigned to Ford’s safety department, was one such Sailor who benefitted from the course.
“It’s a five-day workshop and it covered just about every aspect that you could ever think of,” said Bonds. “It’s things pertaining to both retirement and life after the Navy.”
Bonds says the program has something to offer all Sailors, regardless of their time served.
“For me specifically, resume writing was one of the more beneficial aspects of the class. I’ve been in the Navy for over 26 years and I haven’t done one,” said Bonds. “That and the other couple things that are impressive are the Department of Labor. They come and do a three-day workshop where they teach you how to target different companies and types of jobs, and the final day is when Veterans Administration comes in and they talk about the different benefits that are made available to you.”
According to Sain, the course can be taken multiple times, but depending on time served, it may not be necessary.
“For separating service members who have less than five years in, I would suggest that they take it once when they are about a year to six months out,” said Sain. “For someone who is retiring, they should take it about 18 months out and then again about 6 months out, so all of the information they may have forgotten will be fresh around the time they separate.”
For more information regarding TGPS, contact your departmental career counselor, or visit the Fleet and Family website.
| Date Taken: | 05.20.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 05.21.2018 23:15 |
| Story ID: | 277825 |
| Location: | AT SEA |
| Web Views: | 30 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Paving the Way to a Brighter Future, by Ryan Carter, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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