Photo By Norman Shifflett | FORT CARSON, Colo. — Maj. Gen. Matthew W. McFarlane, commanding general, 4th...... read more read more
By Norman Shifflett
Fort Carson Public Affairs Office
FORT CARSON, Colo. — 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson honored 15 local employers and five community partners May 4, 2021, at the Elkhorn Conference Center for recruiting and hiring military spouses.
Military spouse employment success relies heavily on employers who not only recognize the amazing skills and experiences spouses bring to companies, but have come to rely on their flexibility and grit.
The employers were selected based on their significant efforts in hiring, training and retaining military spouses and transitioning service members.
“Something we wanted to do for a really long time is to say thank you to employers who prioritize military spouses, especially our military spouses here on Fort Carson,” said Col. Nate Springer, commander, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Carson. “I want to thank the great organizations that we partner with across Colorado Springs and El Paso County who make spouse employment their number one initiative.”
Military spouse employment is one of the Army’s top five quality-of-life priorities. They are currently underused in the labor force by roughly 20% due to the military lifestyle of moving every couple of years to support their Soldier.
“Spouse employment is certainly putting people first, and is an essential part of our quality-of-life initiatives,” said Maj. Gen. Matthew W. McFarlane, commanding general, 4th Inf. Div. and Fort Carson. “We must acknowledge the challenges our spouses face. The frequent moves, the deployments, the long hours that keep service members from assisting in parenting, living in areas that have challenging labor markets or challenging access to reliable child care.”
Holly Dailey, director of family readiness, Association of the U.S. Army, and a former military spouse for 28 years, shared with the audience the difficulties she faced when looking for a job.
When they arrived at their first duty station, Retired Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey, Holly Dailey’s husband, told her about the Army Community Service center and suggested she volunteer with them while looking for a job.
“I took his advice and started volunteering there while learning about the Army lifestyle,” said Dailey. “Throughout the years, as we moved from post to post I continued to volunteer while searching for a new job. I had to learn to reevaluate my own expectations and my career options each time.”
She found that every time they moved, she had to start over and was only offered entry-level positions. She found this very hard to accept.
“I had a college education and years of experience in management-level positions. I felt like I was going backward in my career, and I questioned my own abilities,” said Dailey. “I eventually learned that the gaps in my resume needed explaining. And educating others on the lifestyle of a military spouse was critical to my employment.”
Due to her experiences as a military spouse Dailey has become an advocate for military spouse employment through volunteering, being a member of various boards and through her employment position.
She thanked the local employers and encouraged them to continue welcoming the Army Families and searching for ways to continuously support them.
Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 was just one of the local employers recognized for their efforts to hire military spouses.
According to Retired Col. Joel D. Hamilton, executive director of human resources for Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8, approximately 60% of its employees are military connected.
“We are not in it for the recognition but to really give back,” said Hamilton. “We recognize the dedication, loyalty, work ethic, education level and the level of commitment we get when we hire a military spouse.”
For more information on career preparation and enrichment assistance, contact the Employment Readiness Program at 719-526-0452 or visit https://carson.armymwr.com/programs/employment-readiness to request an appointment and register for classes.
| Date Taken: | 05.04.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 06.04.2021 14:11 |
| Story ID: | 398181 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 17 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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