Military bring skills, loyalty to civilian workforce | Premier

Six and a half months ago, Jim Lovewell transitioned out of a 25-year career in the U.S. Air Force. 

The Air Force sent him to school for logistics and trained him to be a foreign area officer. Among other duties, Lovewell commanded logistics readiness squadrons in England and at Peterson Air Force Base; headed the Joint Logistics Operations Center at NORAD and U.S. Northern Command; and served as director of staff, Headquarters Space Operations Command, U.S. Space Force, at Peterson Space Force Base.

Now, he’s continuing to draw upon his military skills and expertise as chief defense development officer for the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC.

Lovewell’s wife, Robin, who worked in human resources at the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, now serves as the Pikes Peak Workforce Center’s business and military relations specialist.

The Lovewells, like thousands of other transitioning or retired military and their families, play vital and unique roles in Colorado Springs’ workforce.

“Like few other places in the nation, we have an unprecedented number of military bases and headquarters here, and 60,000 military members and their families, plus 400,000 veterans,” Jim Lovewell said.

“In terms of talent, they bring a great deal of variety,” he said. “They also come with security clearances and — a lot of times — crucial global perspectives.”

Many former military people find employment in the Colorado Springs defense sector, taking jobs that may be hard to fill because they require security clearance and specialized skills.

“We’ve also got numerous examples of people who have started up their own businesses that have a big economic impact and contribute to the wonderful fabric of our community,” Lovewell said. “In terms of bringing experience to support services, they can help people in a volunteer status with some of our organizations around town.”

Former service members have learned many skills that are easily transferable to civilian jobs, said Mark Smith, director of transition and employment at Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center.

“A lot of companies will hire veterans and their spouses because they’re resilient,” Smith said. “They will show up to work on time; they will be in the right attire. Especially on the veterans side, they take charge; they get things done.”

Employers also can count on their loyalty to their organization, and they’re easy to train, he added.

“Not only are veterans valuable to our workforce, but through those workforce contributions, they benefit the entire community,” said Lindsey Caroon, Mt. Carmel communications director. “Through those workforce contributions, they benefit the entire community. Investing in veterans and helping them find a good job with a livable wage, we’re really investing in our community.”

Veterans and transitioning military members have priority of service at the Pikes Peak Workforce Center, said Communications Manager Becca Tonn. PPWFC has several individuals dedicated to working with veterans and families, and programs tailored to their needs.

TELLING THE MILITARY STORY

In Colorado Springs “we have 400-plus military separations plus retirees each month,” Lovewell said. “Anybody who retires short of 20 years’ service is referred to as separation. After 20 or 30 years on activity duty, people are referred to as military retirees,” he explained.

A large percentage of those people choose to stay in Colorado Springs.

“A lot of people that come here want to buy a house, get their kids in the great schools that we have, and then choose to retire here because it’s got such a great reputation and a great economy,” he said.

Many of those who separate or retire here have spouses with experience and credentials that fulfill needs in the local workforce.

The Chamber & EDC is working with legislators in Denver to make it as easy as possible for military spouses to transfer their out-of-state credentials and licenses to Colorado, he said. 

“We are looking at eight categories for credentialing and licensing, including education, health care and counseling,” he said.

While reaching out to transitioning military and spouses is not the core of the Chamber & EDC’s mission, “we work with the bases,” he said. “I keep up very close relationships with the bases’ leadership as well as the headquarters’ leadership. I keep a pulse on what’s new to the community that’s impacting both those who are currently serving as well as those who are getting out of the military.”

Lovewell said the chamber also strives to tell the military story to the local business community.

“Very few of these companies have direct contact with military on a daily basis,” he said. “They may not understand their needs for affordable and available housing and affordable and available childcare. And it’s making them aware of how many job seekers there are out there.”

The Chamber & EDC partners with Mt. Carmel and the Pikes Peak Workforce Center to help connect transitioning military and veterans with companies seeking employees.

Lovewell also works with the Home Front Military Network, a national organization that assists service members, veterans and their families with career services, financial needs and other resources, and with Hiring Our Heroes, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation program that connects the military community with businesses.

Hiring Our Heroes “is definitely a force multiplier,” Lovewell said. One of its programs allows a service member, during the last 8 weeks of his or her active duty, to work four days a week with a company while continuing to receive military pay.

“That is a stellar example here in our community of opening the doors for a military member who has been focused on the mission for so long, and now makes the transition to start developing relationships in the community,” Lovewell said.

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

Last year, Mt. Carmel’s transition and employment program assisted 573 transitioning service members and assisted in the placement of 394 at an average salary of $27.70 per hour, Smith said.

For former service members who had been out for more than two years, 337 asked Mt. Carmel for employment assistance; 173 were assisted in finding jobs at an average salary of $25.86 per hour, and 10 did internships, he said.

Smith’s team includes two peer navigators who work with each of those groups. Clients have ranged in age from 21 to 85.

“We’re not a placement agency, but we provide them with the tools and resources to help gain employment after the military,” Smith said.

Many of the program’s clients aren’t sure what they want to do, he said, but many know what they don’t want to do. Mt. Carmel’s transition and employment team helps them build a plan and assists them with job-finding skills such as building a federal résumé and interviewing. 

“We do a weeklong interview workshop called Prep Connect 360 that helps them figure out what they want to do, and a part of that is doing mock interviews with some of our partners,” Smith said. 

Smith recruits HR personnel from companies like Jacobs Engineering Group and General Dynamics — people who do actual hiring — to conduct the mock interviews.

Transitioning military members often seek IT and cybersecurity training and jobs, but they also express interest in fields from construction to truck driving, he said. Many also look toward continuing to work as civilians at the installations where they served, or to find jobs in defense contracting.

Smith’s team also includes a military spouse job coach who works with military spouses and dependents between the ages of 18 and 26.

Many military spouses are interested in part-time or remote positions, especially those who have young children at home, Smith said.

Last year, Mt. Carmel served 115 military spouses and dependents as clients and assisted 88 with obtaining employment, he said.

HEAD OF THE LINE

During 2020, Pikes Peak Workforce Center served 6,269 customers who self-identified as veterans (that’s 13.13 percent of its total clientele) and 597 who said they were military spouses (1.25 percent of total clientele),  Tonn said.

During the 2021 program year, veterans comprised 18.39 percent of PPWFC’s customers, and 1.1 percent of its clientele were military spouses.

Tonn thinks PPWFC may serve even more members of the military community than the numbers show, because some do not self-identify on the intake form.

When they do, however, they are eligible for special benefits and programs.

“If they come through the front door and there’s a line and they indicate they are a veteran, we move them to the front of the line,” she said. “When we have job fairs and hiring events, we open a half hour early for transitioning military and veterans.”

PPWFC employs a veteran navigator who helps determine how the center can best serve transitioning military and veterans. 

“We have a state veterans team that is embedded with us,” Tonn said. “However, they are limited by their funding and their state directive to serve transitioning military and veterans who have significant barriers to employment.”

PPWFC also has a business and military relations specialist who teaches professional interactive workshops, including a federal résumé workshop.

“Federal résumés are a completely different animal than a civilian or corporate résumé,” Tonn said. “They’re very long and intensive.”

Another workshop, Navigating USA Jobs, focuses on other aspects of finding and applying for federal jobs.

PPWFC hosts two job fairs each year specifically for veterans and spouses and a third job fair in November for civilians and veterans. 

Those who qualify for funding under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act are eligibility for a variety of training programs that PPWFC pays for, Tonn said. Those who don’t meet those metrics may participate in Ready to Rise, a reskilling and upskilling program that provides up to $5,000 in training for anyone who has been affected by COVID.

“We want to do everything we can to encourage them to stay in our region and to encourage employers to realize they are a fantastic talent pool,” Tonn said.