Fleet Sailors JOIN Together to Recruit and Retain the Right Fit

Photo By Ed Barker | This is the new Naval Education and Training Command logo. NETC announced changes to its command logo and a new mission statement Aug. 20. The new logo removes the depiction of the 5-vector model and the new mission statement is "Fleet readiness starts here."  

CORONADO, CA, UNITED STATES

11.16.2018

Courtesy Story

Naval Education and Training Command

By Lt. Katherine M. Steele, Center for Sea Air and Land and Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewman Public Affairs

CORONADO, Calif. – Representatives from Naval Education and Training Command’s (NETC) Development, Planning and Analysis division met with San Diego and Pearl Harbor fleet Sailors to assist with improving a web-based tool, called Job Opportunities In the Navy (JOIN), that can help identify a Sailor’s ideal job, Nov. 5-8.

When Sailors log into JOIN, they answer questions and rank individual vocational preferences based on community, work environment, and work activities. After making their selections, Sailors receive results that show the kind of jobs where they are likely to succeed on a personal and professional level.

The Navy already uses the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) during the recruiting process to determine what a future Sailor is qualified to do. Through JOIN, the Navy hopes to increase recruiting and retention by addressing expectations and realities and finding the best fit for a Sailor.

“The initial taxonomy (for JOIN) is based on a formal analysis of official job descriptions for each rating, and validated with Navy subject matter experts," said Dr. Stephen E. Watson, director, U.S. Navy Testing Science and creator of JOIN.

The NETC JOIN team visits to San Diego and Pearl Harbor are part of an ongoing effort to improve the tool by ensuring that the work styles and work activities used within JOIN are what Sailors experience in the fleet. The team has already worked so far with rating subject matter experts, community managers and detailers, instructors at various NETC training sites, and with fleet Sailors in Norfolk.

“We want this information from the source, those most familiar with the rating work,” said Steve Clemens, a business analyst for Navy Testing Science, who was part of the team that spoke with fleet Sailors at San Diego and Hawaii bases.

“Sailors would often say ‘I had no idea this was what I would be doing,’ when they were facing academic challenges during training,” said Clemens, a retired master chief petty officer who had his share of reclassifying Sailors who could not complete their assigned “A” School.

Clemens also explained how the correct fit would ideally attract and keep the right people.

“Work ethic and propensity to reenlist are high for those who have a passion for their job and greater buy-in to the mission because they like what they do and how they do it,” said Clemens.

Through JOIN, the individual selects a community preference such as aviation, submarine, surface, or special operations. The user also identifies a preferred work environment such as indoor or outdoor, office or industrial, mental or physical. Ultimately, the desires are honed-in on process-content with verb-noun pairs such as operate-electronic, maintain-mechanical, or make-facilities. There are currently eight work styles to select from, with 25 work activities for the available enlisted ratings.

Using the JOIN data collection software tool, the fleet Sailors attending the JOIN sessions were asked to rank the five most important work activities for their specific rating, focusing on the tasks that set their rating apart from others. The JOIN analysts will use the input from various paygrades, years of service, and geographic locations to update the JOIN rating tables.

Navy Testing Science develops and validates Navy enlisted selection and rating entry standards for selection and ASVAB composites and line scores for rating entry. In addition, they develop and validate classification methods that optimize Sailor-rating vocational match, including the Rating Identification Engine (RIDE) for aptitude fit and JOIN for interest fit.

JOIN has been integrated into Navy Recruiting Command’s classification process and used alongside RIDE for about 3,200 future Sailors since September 2018. It also is available for use with initial training pipeline reclassification, designation and rating conversion processes.

Understanding that future Sailors often face limited rating availability during the classification process based on Navy needs, JOIN provides a direction for success. Additionally, the member will still need to qualify for the rating, be it scoring high enough on the ASVAB and Naval Advanced Placement Test (NAPT) to pursue the nuclear pipeline, excelling at a physical screening test for Naval Special Warfare candidates, or other community-specific requirements.

For more information on JOIN, visit https://join.sscno.nmci.navy.mil/.

For more information from Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/cnrc/ .

• Date Taken: 11.16.2018
• Date Posted: 11.16.2018 12:21
• Story ID: 300260
• Location: CORONADO, CA, US