SkillSmart creates pipeline of qualified local workers by matching candidates with positions and helping prospective workers gain the skills needed for future employment.

First community town hall meeting scheduled for Dec. 15 at Journey House to introduce local jobseekers to the platform and assist with RPP certification.

The Milwaukee Bucks today launched a new partnership with SkillSmart to create a workforce development platform for family-supporting careers in the new arena district – both during the construction process and for end-use positions in the arena and surrounding development.

The platform can be accessed at www.bucksarenajobs.com or www.wisconsinesc.com/careers and will serve as a valuable resource for both job seekers and employers.

“This project is as much about creating meaningful and long-lasting employment for the citizens of Milwaukee who need it most as it is about creating a world-class venue for the people of Wisconsin to enjoy,” Bucks Senior Vice President Alex Lasry said. “As part of our development agreement we made a commitment to partner with the city and county on workforce development initiatives that will truly make a difference for jobseekers in Wisconsin. The SkillSmart platform will not only align Milwaukee jobseekers with available positions in and around the arena, but create a more qualified pipeline of potential employees that will be mutually beneficial for jobseekers and employers throughout the region. We can’t wait to begin rolling this tool out in communities throughout the city and begin providing meaningful opportunities for local residents interested expanding their skill sets and finding employment within this vibrant new development.”

“Milwaukee County has already placed more than 100 individuals in jobs averaging more than $15 per hour through our UpLift MKE partnership with the Bucks, just since the beginning of the year,” Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele said. “These efforts are targeted directly to workers, particularly those in and near the Sherman Park area, who most need support to successfully climb the ladder of opportunity. The potential to benefit our community here can’t be overstated. The Bucks’ commitment to build the future in Milwaukee will have a profound and lasting impact on our community.”

Construction of the new arena is expected to generate over 3,000 jobs, while an additional $230 million in economic development is already pledged or under construction in the surrounding area that will produce thousands more family-supporting careers in the coming years. The new platform powered by SkillSmart will build a pipeline of qualified applicants for construction and end-use positions throughout the district. The site breaks down available positions in terms of necessary skills and prerequisites, while inviting jobseekers to build a personal profile based around their work experience, training and qualifications. The tool will then provide jobseekers with scores for each available position based upon how well their skillset and qualifications align with the job, while also providing resources to potential employees on additional training available for them to become stronger candidates for available positions.

“We are pleased to partner with the Bucks in implementing SkillSmart,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said. “We are making the process more efficient by taking the Residence Preference Program (RPP) certification process directly to residents and making it even easier to get certified. I’m hopeful Milwaukee residents will come to the job information meetings scheduled and take advantage of this effort.”

In the coming weeks, the Bucks will be partnering with the City of Milwaukee to host a series of town hall meetings throughout the city to introduce prospective jobseekers to the platform and help them begin building their personal employment profiles. The first event is slated for Thursday, Dec. 15 from 5:30-8 p.m. at Journey House (2110 W. Scott St.). Dates and locations for additional town hall meetings will be available in the coming weeks.

The Bucks have committed to meeting a 40 percent RPP threshold for trade workers on the construction of the new arena. As part of the SkillSmart roll-out, the Bucks and City of Milwaukee officials will work together to assist local job seekers to become RPP certified and ensure that a large percentage of available positions go to local workers who need the opportunities most. City of Milwaukee officials will be on hand at each town hall meeting to assist attendees interested in receiving RPP certification.

Jobseekers at any stage of their search will benefit from the SkillSmart platform, whether they’re searching for a job that matches their current skillset, looking to take a step forward on their personal career track by expanding their qualifications, or simply starting their search and learning about the types of positions that will be available and how to begin preparing for future opportunities. By building a SkillSmart profile, prospective employees will learn how to become better-prepared for future opportunities while developing a stronger and more prepared workforce that will benefit the entire city.

“Both SkillSmart and the Bucks are committed to using local workforce development as an opportunity to drive regional economic growth,” said SkillSmart Co-Founder, SVP & General Counsel Jason Green. “This project is intended to ensure the local Milwaukee community experiences the material benefits, including job creation, of the arena’s construction and operating jobs.”

Read the Full Release from the Milwaukee Bucks >>

###

About SkillSmart

SkillSmart is a for-purpose tech company that is reshaping how employers identify and hire talent. Its employer-driven hiring platform helps growing organizations and industries find the talent they need by matching job seekers to employment opportunities based on skills rather than traditional proxies like a degree. We are based in Germantown, Md. and help empower employers and job seekers to make the right match in states across the country. For more information, please visit www.SkillSmart.us or find us on Twitter @SkillSmartUS and Facebook @SkillSmartUS.

For more information, contact:
Kyle Friis, kfriis@skillsmart.us
(301) 250-1015

New Contract with the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA to Drive Local Economic Growth and Employment Opportunities During Arena Construction

Germantown, MD – October 5, 2016 – SkillSmart, Inc. announced today at the Close It Summit that it has been retained by the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA to drive workforce development in the Milwaukee, WI region. Leading up to and throughout the construction of the Bucks’ new arena, slated through 2018, SkillSmart will help local job seekers learn about and indicate interest in employment opportunities, as well as connect with training partners and contractors.

The talent development company has developed a customized online platform, in collaboration with the Bucks, to identify and advertise construction opportunities for the local workforce. The Milwaukee Bucks will utilize the SkillSmart platform to enable job seekers to create profiles, understand requirements for open positions, and connect with training partners to become qualified. Leading up to construction, contractors will use the platform to identify candidates for their open construction positions.

“Both SkillSmart and the Bucks are committed to using local workforce development as an opportunity to drive regional economic growth,” said SkillSmart Co-Founder, SVP & General Counsel Jason Green. “This project is intended to ensure the local Milwaukee community experiences the benefits, including job creation, of the arena’s construction and operating jobs.”

The job portal will go live in mid-October for job seekers to begin reviewing open positions, required skills, and training opportunities.

###

About SkillSmart

SkillSmart is a for-purpose tech company that is reshaping how employers identify and hire talent. Its employer-driven hiring platform helps growing organizations and industries find the talent they need by matching job seekers to employment opportunities based on skills rather than traditional proxies like a degree. We are based in Germantown, Md. and help empower employers and job seekers to make the right match in states across the country. For more information, please visit www.SkillSmart.us or find us on Twitter @SkillSmartUS and Facebook @SkillSmartUS.

About the Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center

To create a new way for Milwaukee to live, to work, and to play. More than just an arena, the Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center is the central hub for recreation in Milwaukee, connecting communities, neighborhoods and generations… for generations to come.

The Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center will be much more than just the new home for the Milwaukee Bucks basketball. Designed to reflect the heritage, history and personality of Milwaukee while actively projecting progress, accessibility and a renewed sense of community, the state of the art, 714,000 square foot arena will be the hub of entertainment in Wisconsin and the engine that drives growth in downtown Milwaukee. For more information on the Arena project please visit: http://wisconsinesc.com/.

For more information, contact:
Kyle Friis, kfriis@skillsmart.us
(301) 250-1015

New Workforce Development Contract is with the Chesapeake Regional Tech Council to Support Regional Tech and Cybersecurity Staffing

Germantown, MD – September 21, 2016 – SkillSmart announced announced today that it has been retained by the Chesapeake Regional Tech Council to connect regional tech and cyber employers with qualified, local talent. The hiring and skills-matching company, working with the Chesapeake Regional Tech Council (CTRC) and its 300 corporate members, will develop an online jobs portal called MDCyberJobs.com.

In September, SkillSmart and CRTC will host a Back to School event to launch the jobs platform as well as four focus groups with CRTC members to better understand hiring needs and to identify job-specific skills. SkillSmart will use this data to develop a detailed job profile for each opportunity, and job seekers will build unique profiles to determine compatibility with open positions. By focusing on the skills required and those job seekers have, both candidates and employers can see if the two are well-matched.

“There are 18,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the DC metro region and we have consistently heard that identifying and hiring the right talent is one of the biggest challenges employers face,” said Michael Knapp, CEO and co-founder of SkillSmart. “We are looking forward to this partnership with CRTC and local cybersecurity employers to drive the local pipeline of talent into this growing industry.”

To further develop the cybersecurity talent pipeline in the region, SkillSmart and CRTC are partnering with Anne Arundel Community College and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County to identify education pathways to cyber jobs. Together, SkillSmart, CRTC and these local educational partners will create a talent pool trained with the skills necessary to be hired in the local workforce.

The MDCyberJobs.com job portal will go live in mid-October.

###

About SkillSmart

SkillSmart is a for-purpose tech company that is reshaping how employers identify and hire talent. Its employer-driven hiring platform helps growing organizations and industries find the talent they need by matching job seekers to employment opportunities based on skills rather than traditional proxies like a degree. We are based in Germantown, Md. and help empower employers and job seekers to make the right match in states across the country. For more information, please visit www.SkillSmart.us or find us on Twitter @SkillSmartUS and Facebook @SkillSmartUS.

About The Chesapeake Regional Tech Council

The Chesapeake Regional Tech Council (CRTC) is a member-driven organization that supports technology entrepreneurship, technology commercialization, and successful business growth by connecting, educating and advocating for our members in and around the Chesapeake region. The CRTC strives to be a premier resource for growing technology-based businesses in the Annapolis-Washington-Baltimore region. More than 300 prospering businesses benefit from their membership with the CRTC and we invite you to participate. For more information, please visit www.chesapeaketech.org.

For more information, contact:
Kyle Friis, kfriis@skillsmart.us
(301) 250-1015

SkillSmart Joins White House Call to Action for Private Sector Engagement on Global Refugee Crisis

Germantown, MD – September 20, 2016 – Today, SkillSmart announced its participation as a partner in the White House Call to Action for private sector engagement on the global refugee crisis. To facilitate this engagement, the White House launched the Partnership for Refugees and called on the private sector to make new, measurable and significant commitments that will that will have a long-term, sustainable impact on refugees.

“There are 21 million refugees around the world struggling to regain normalcy in their lives. It’s important that we in the private sector do our part to support this community, and at SkillSmart we’re committed to help,” said Jason Green, SkillSmart Co-Founder, SVP and General Counsel. “Refugees are mothers, fathers, doctors, teachers and students, and they deserve the stability and self-sufficiency that employment can provide.”

SkillSmart is proud to stand with President Obama and join the Partnership for Refugees. Refugees are a valuable untapped resource and, if given the opportunity, can thrive and contribute wherever they reside. SkillSmart’s commitment is focused on education, employment, and enablement, and the job-matching startup will collaborate with a refugee resettlement organization to provide the hiring platform to match refugee job seekers with participating employers.

“Too often the refugee community is unable to use the full breadth of their skillset due to lack of credential recognition, which also has a real impact on employers seeking skilled workers ” said Mike Knapp, SkillSmart’s CEO and Co-Founder. “Their credentials may not transfer, but their skills can and SkillSmart’s web-based platform will help to match their skills to available opportunities and connect to tailored training courses to continue to climb the ladder of mobility.”

SkillSmart has pledged to provide its skills matching and capacity building platform to match refugee job seekers with participating employers and educational institutions. These activities are aligned with the goal of the Call to Action: to empower refugees to thrive and contribute to society wherever they reside by providing them with the infrastructure, resources and tools they need to access education and skills, gain meaningful employment and become self-reliant.

SkillSmart joins more than 50 companies that have responded to President Obama’s Call to Action including Airbnb, Chobani, Google, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Microsoft, UPS, TripAdvisor, and more. To learn about the Partnership for Refugees, visit www.partnershipforrefugees.org.

###

About SkillSmart

SkillSmart is a for-purpose tech company that is reshaping how employers identify and hire talent. Its employer-driven hiring platform helps growing organizations and industries find the talent they need by matching job seekers to employment opportunities based on skills rather than traditional proxies like a degree. We are based in Germantown, Md. and help empower employers and job seekers to make the right match in states across the country. For more information, please visit www.SkillSmart.us or find us on Twitter @SkillSmartUS and Facebook @SkillSmartUS.

For more information, contact:
Kyle Friis, kfriis@skillsmart.us
(301) 250-1015

New Workforce Development Contract is with Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation

Germantown, MD – September 13, 2016 – SkillSmart announced today that it has been retained by Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation in Anne Arundel County, Maryland to staff retail and restaurant positions at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI Airport).

The hiring and skills-matching technology company, working in partnership with Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation (AAWDC), BWI Airport and AIRMALL USA, will develop a customized online experience at https://bwicareers.skillsmart.us through which job seekers will find open positions, as well as the corresponding job profiles that identify the unique skills required for each position. By focusing on the skills required by employers and those held by job seekers, both candidates and employers can evaluate whether the two are well-matched.

“This partnership is a unique opportunity for the greater Baltimore community to connect local employers at the airport with qualified candidates looking for jobs,” said SkillSmart CEO and co-founder Michael Knapp. “We are looking forward to working with AAWDC to help develop the local workforce and build growth in the regional economy.”

By understanding the specific hiring needs of AIRMALL’s employers, SkillSmart and AAWDC can assess the skills in the workforce and create a pipeline of qualified talent for the open positions at BWI Airport.

The job portal will go live in mid-September.

###

About SkillSmart

SkillSmart is a for-purpose tech company that is reshaping how employers identify and hire talent. Its employer-driven hiring platform helps growing organizations and industries find the talent they need by matching job seekers to employment opportunities based on skills rather than traditional proxies like degrees or certifications. We are based in Germantown, Md. and help empower employers and job seekers to make the right match in states across the country. For more information, please visit www.SkillSmart.us or find us on Twitter @SkillSmartUS and Facebook @SkillSmartUS.

About Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation

AAWDC is 501C3 nonprofit corporation that provides innovative, high quality workforce development services to Anne Arundel County businesses and citizens.  AAWDC is the bridge between understanding the workforce and talent development needs of local and regional businesses and preparing individuals to meet their full career potential. For more information please visit www.aawdc.org.

For more information, contact:
Kyle Friis, kfriis@skillsmart.us
(301) 250-1015

Over the last few weeks, our team has been on the road meeting with various clients, partners and industry groups. The common theme: how we can work together to solve the nation’s skills gap through a better, more qualified workforce.

Maryland Hospitality and Lodging Association

We are proud to support the hotel and lodging industry in the region. Co-founders Mike Knapp and Jason Green recently met with American Hospitality and Lodging Association President Katherine Lugar for their Legislative Wrap-Up. The Association provides advocacy, information and recognition to advance the interests of the lodging industry in Maryland. The industry had another banner year in the Greater DC region, and feel fortunate that our platform is being used to source candidates into jobs and careers in the area. More >>

Arizona State University GSV Summit

As our award for winning the Employment Technology Explosion pitch competition at 2015 Innovate-Education Conference, SkillSmart was invited to present at the ASU-GSV conference last month in San Diego. Jason presented at the three-day, fast-passed amalgam of start-ups, emerging companies, large philanthropy and venture capital. In addition to incredible contacts, SkillSmart was honored to be showcased as one of the companies to watch out for in the workforce/talent development technology space. More >>

Columbia University

John Dillow was invited to participate in a panel discussion at Columbia University on Solutions to Post-Incarceration Employment and Entrepreneurship: The Role of Businesses and Universities. He shared how the SkillSmart platform can be a tool for the re-entry community. SkillSmart’s platform can be used to identify skills acquired by those seeking employment as well as identify appropriate and beneficial training that leads to employment in the community. More >>

Bay Path University Women’s Leadership Conference

Mike attended the 21^st Annual Bay Path University Women’s Leadership Conference in Springfield, MA. More than 2,200 hundred attendees participated in the conversation relating to “what does it mean to thrive?” Keynote speakers included headliners like Marlee Matlin and Arianna Huffington, and perhaps lesser known (but not for long), Veronika Scott from The Empowerment Plan in Detroit. It was a great opportunity to talk with the attendees and community about SkillSmart and how we can help job seekers and employers thrive by focusing on skills needed to be successful. More >>

Write a great resume! This is the cry that people hear when they say they’re interested in finding a new job. High schools and colleges even teach courses on resume writing. But is that really the best option? Will it get you hired? Is that really what employers are looking for?

Sixty-one percent of the American public believes there is a skills gap, and 90 percent of employers agree.

If that’s the problem, how does describing your work and education experience show an employer that you have the skills they need? It doesn’t. In reality, it can create more confusion as you try to describe the jobs you’ve had in the terms you think a prospective employer wants to see.

It is increasingly obvious that employers need to better describe the specific skills they’re looking to hire, and that job seekers need to be able to show that they have the skills employers need. This requires a new approach.

Too often, job descriptions – and as a result, resumes – ask for experiences that are supposed to represent something else. For example, there is too much weight placed on what your last job was or where you went to college, rather than what you actually did in those places.

The first step is to develop a skills-based job profile. This enables an employer to take, for example, a four-page job description and translate it into a clear, condensed job profile with a specific number of prerequisites (usually 4-6) and a specific number of skills (usually 10-20). Job seekers can build their own skills profiles and match to opportunities based on criteria established by the employer.

Can a resume still help you get a job? Yes, but probably not as often or as effectively as those resume writing classes would have you believe.

Right now employers and job seekers are each working independently to guess at what the other is looking for, which contributes to the skills gap and a great deal of frustration for everyone involved in the process.

By matching work, education and other life experiences directly to a skills-based job profile developed by an employer, job seekers have a transparent way to demonstrate their qualifications. After 500 years, the resume needs some disruption. It is time to refocus our attention on skills. A job profile creates a common language to connect employers and jobseekers – and it levels the playing field in hiring. This makes for a more transparent process and achieves more successful hiring outcomes.

Joint effort to reduce the skills gap by equipping job seekers with 
skills matched to in-demand jobs

Germantown, MD – April 20, 2016 – SkillSmart and Saylor Academy announced today that they are partnering to accelerate skills-based learning and employment opportunities. Together, SkillSmart’s skills matching algorithm and Saylor Academy’s cost-effective training platform will streamline the pathway from education to employment for job seekers.

Ninety percent of employers believe that graduates lack the skills they need, while nearly 50 percent of recent college graduates are unemployed or underemployed and saddled with significant debt, according to recent reports from the Hay Group and the New York Federal Reserve. Recognizing that matching skills to employment opportunities yields the most successful workforce outcomes, SkillSmart will direct job seekers to Saylor Academy for courses and training opportunities that build the skillsets needed for specific job opportunities. The students of Saylor Academy will use the SkillSmart platform to identify and apply to employment opportunities relevant to the skills and credentials they’ve earned.

“We’re happy to introduce this new partnership with Saylor Academy; it enables job seekers using SkillSmart to more easily find valuable courses at virtually no cost,” said Mike Knapp, CEO of SkillSmart. “Together we will continue to address the workforce skills gap and create a more talented workforce.”

SkillSmart is committed to empowering individuals and employers to maximize their potential by identifying and matching the skills necessary for success. Saylor Academy is dedicated to maintaining open access to learning opportunities while reducing the cost of training and education that provide requisite credentials for the workforce.

The SkillSmart/Saylor Academy partnership has begun benefiting both employers and job seekers in the greater National Harbor, MD region. Currently, several job openings at MGM Resorts National Harbor, hosted on the SkillSmart platform, require skills that can be obtained via Saylor Academy’s courses in business, finance, accounting and human resources.

“Through this partnership, job seekers will be able to develop the skills that are in demand through Saylor Academy, and our students will be able to match to viable employment opportunities,” said Jeff Davidson, Director of Strategic Relationships for Saylor Academy. “Open Education Resources like our courses can be deployed to address skills gaps in many sectors, we just need employers and funders to come together to make it happen,” he added.

Users can log on or create a SkillSmart profile at mgmresorts.skillsmart.us to review open opportunities and available training.

###

For more information, jgreen@skillsmart.us, (240) 498-4492.

About SkillSmart

SkillSmart addresses the skills gap by transforming the talent development pipeline. By using skills to connect employers, job seekers, and educators, SkillSmart creates the transparency to match qualified applicants to employment opportunities and create a qualified talent pipeline. SkillSmart helps job seekers become better qualified through the understanding of the skills they have and the skills they need for certain positions. For employers, SkillSmart helps them identify new talent, and nurture and grow existing talent. For educators, SkillSmart helps them develop curriculum that meets the in-demand skills needs of regional industries. For more information about SkillSmart, visit the company’s website at skillsmart.wpengine.com.

About Saylor Academy

The Saylor Academy is a nonprofit academy that provides tuition-free courses fully online. Individuals can start whenever they want, work at their own pace and earn free certificates for all courses and tuition-free college credit for select courses. Saylor Academy’s mission is to provide educational resources, learning technologies, and open access to credentials and other learning opportunities. For more information about Saylor Academy, visit the website at www.saylor.org.

As we kick off a new year, we want to wish everyone a fulfilling and prosperous 2016. We’re excited by both the challenges and opportunities we’ll face this year, and we’re encouraged by your continued interest and support of our mission to empower employers and job seekers to maximize their potential.

The Community Impact

At the start of 2016, we have over 5,000 people using SkillSmart, actively building their profiles, understanding how their skills match a myriad of hospitality jobs, and enhancing their skills to become more competitive for the opportunities they like. We have more than 70 courses listed from institutions like Prince Georges Community College, Montgomery College, the College of Southern Maryland and more.

2016 will be a big year for the National Capital Region as MGM Resorts International opens its new $1.2 billion facility in National Harbor. MGM Resorts National Harbor will hire more than 3,500 employees to create an experience to remember for their guests. This hiring process will kick off on January 21st with a career showcase at Martin’s Crosswinds in Greenbelt, MD.

We are pleased to support MGM Resorts National Harbor in this process by helping them identify job seekers with the right skills to make the new resort and casino as successful as possible.

If you or someone you know is interested in a career with MGM Resorts National Harbor, start your profile today!

Beyond the Capital

This year also means expansion beyond the Washington, DC region. SkillSmart will work in the Springfield, MA community to fill a number of job openings across employers. We’ll also build a workforce pipeline for future economic growth in the region.

Soon, we will announce a new partnership that brings SkillSmart to employers in other communities across the US. Our partnerships will improve hiring processes and build a stronger workforce that enhances our economic potential and performance.

Enhancing the Fit

We’ve been working hard to have our platform integrate dynamic features to enhance the fit between employers and job seekers. Early this year, we’ll launch new features and product offerings expand our offerings to employers and making it easier for our users to connect. Stay tuned for additional releases and updates!

We’re excited about the opportunities before us and are looking to accelerate our ability to meet the needs of our customers. We’ve started our first round of fundraising to develop new features and functionality more quickly to help our current and future customers find the right talent sooner.

More and more employers, job seekers and educators are recognizing the importance of skills to be successful. We have the platform that connects all the assets needed to make this happen.

We look forward to working with you in 2016, here’s to a great year ahead!

Veterans Day was established in 1919 by President Woodrow Wilson to lift up those individuals who have donned the uniform and made countless sacrifices to protect and serve our country – and to ensure they receive the recognition, love and respect they so rightly deserve.

On this day, and every day, we can think of no better way to honor our service members than to provide them with a straightforward transition to civilian life with effective, comprehensive tools to make this process smooth and dignified.

Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.

Over the last 15 years, service members have transitioned to civilian status at an exponential rate. More than 2.4 million Veterans have re-entered civilian life since 2000, and an additional 1 million are expected in the next 5 years. Astonishingly, over 500,000 Veterans are unemployed and 31% of employed Veterans report being underemployed or in low-wage jobs.

Unfortunately, there are countless anecdotes of Veterans who managed the equivalent of small cities during their service, yet when they transitioned to civilian life were only able to find employment in a low-wage, low-skilled job. This highlights a real and growing problem: the underutilization of our service members’ skillsets and the direct – and significant – economic loss it causes for the Veteran community and broader society.

While this reality isn’t due to any malicious intent, it has detrimental consequences nonetheless. Military duties don’t always translate directly, or clearly, into civilian life. The military has purposefully codified each branch, duty, and rank of service to ensure order, hierarchy and efficiency are maintained consistently throughout all divisions of our armed forces. Consequentially, our service members are well-versed in “military speak” but struggle to articulate the skills acquired during their service in a way that conveys to civilian terms.

Similarly, the vast majority of HR specialists are unfamiliar with military functions, practice and language. They struggle to identify how prior military service meets their business needs. It’s easy to understand why an HR specialist without military training may have difficulty knowing what duties an infantryman, for example, would have performed or how those experiences might help their business.

In response to this language challenge there have been significant efforts over the last few years to adopt something called a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) Translator, a tool designed to translate military skills and experience into civilian terms and covert military positions to civilian occupations. Service members enter their military branches and occupational codes into the Translator, which returns civilian job opportunities that match their military codes.

In theory, this is precisely what we want and what’s needed. Unfortunately, it’s quite rare for an MOS Translator to accurately capture a service member’s skill set, because they are generally built upon an aggregated data model like O*NET, which matches a military position to a particular occupational code. This way of matching a military position to a civilian job can fundamentally ignore the individual skills developed by an individual service member while serving our country – it looks to words and codes instead of people and skills.

Just as no two civilian jobs are performed exactly the same, no two military jobs are exactly the same despite their uniform codification. In the same way that a teacher in a rural school district might develop different skills than one in an urban setting, even though they’re both teachers, service members with the same position title but different assignments will develop different skills.

To prove this point, the SkillSmart team used a translator to search for a job in Ft. Meade, Maryland where a US Army Intelligence Analyst, better known as a 35M, might find a job. The search returned several entry-level security positions and a few code-based cyber positions, but unfortunately no positions were returned that were directly linked to this MOS. However, a quick search of the National Security Agency’s online career site returned open positions for Intelligence Analyst Development Program (IADP) – Entry Level at Ft Meade – which would be much more aligned with the skills developed by the analyst while in the Army.

This translator process often either underassumes the breadth of a service member’s skills or sometimes overassumes their skill development. Either instance can be a disservice to the service member leaving them frustrated and saying “that’s not what I did.”

This begs the question: What do our service members do and which skills do they develop? We think there are no better people to answer that question than the service members themselves.

Instead of trying to match a military code to a job title, it is more important to better understand what skills our individual service members have developed and identify where those skills may qualify them for existing civilian opportunities. To accomplish this, the SkillSmart platform starts with the skills that an employer is looking to hire. We work diligently with employers to break down their positions into the individual skills that comprise each position.

Once the process of working with employers to create a clearly defined list of “desired skills” is complete, these skills are presented to Veterans and prompt them to identify where they may have acquired and demonstrated a skill during their service. This process empowers service members to identify a specific skill and display how they’ve used it. For example, they may recall being responsible for inventory during a 12 month assignment during their time as an E-5 when seeing “inventory management” as a desired skill in a position of interest.

This process allows the HR specialist to identify the positions and skills needed, and allows the service member to provide valuable qualification information about their service.

In addition, this skills-based approach helps identify any skill gaps that service members might have for the opportunity they are seeking. Resources exist for transitioning service members to develop and advance their skills and training, whether during the 180 days allotted under the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), the GI bill or otherwise. At SkillSmart, we arm them with information about the skills employers want and the skills they need to acquire or improve, so they can be most efficient with these resources and reach their potential.

It is both a moral and economic imperative to ensure that the individuals who have served our nation are well served with the right tools to accelerate their transition to civilian life.

We need Veterans to be contributing members of the economic workforce. While national unemployment rates have declined, more than half (53%) of our Veterans enter a period of unemployment upon transitioning to civilian life with an average of almost 6 months without employment. Our economic outlook is brightest when this population is able to meaningful contribute.

Further, the American military is one of the most elite training institutions in the world spending billions of dollars on training its active service members annually. In the same way we think of our post-secondary education system as providing training to benefit the individual and society over a longer period of time, so too must we view the training provided to our elite military. Accordingly, it’s double the economic loss when a well-trained service member is unable to fully put their skills to work.

Lastly, there is a serious and immediate workforce demand that our service members could fill. There are currently six million open IT positions and a growing focus on cybersecurity, which is, arguably, the greatest economic threat to our country.

Veterans are uniquely situated to transfer their skills into these and other open civilian positions or engage in additional skills development to pursue these positions. They are an untapped resource that once tapped will have great benefit to them individually, our economy and our national security.

To all the Veterans, we thank you for your tremendous service. It is now our duty to honor your efforts with more than words, we must give you the tools to be as successful as civilians as you were as soldiers.

Symantec Cyber Career Connection (SC3) and its Commitment to Veteran Hiring

Cybersecurity giant Symantec has added Per Scholas to its Cyber Career Connection (SC3) effort. The Symantec Cyber Career Connection (SC3) is a collaborative effort to address the global workforce gap in cybersecurity that was launched in 2014 at the Clinton Global Initiative America summer meeting. The program provides underserved young adults and military veterans with targeted education, training and certifications that position them to fill in-demand cybersecurity jobs and enter long-term careers.

Through the SC3 cybersecurity program, Per Scholas will provide military veterans its tuition-free training in IT support and cybersecurity. The offering is four months and leads participants to complete the CompTIA A+, Network+, and Security+ certifications along with entry-level employment assistance into cybersecurity with Per Scholas corporate partners. Launching in 2016, this course offering will be available in the National Capital Region.

The National Capital Region (NCR) had more than 23,000 job postings for cybersecurity in 2013, and 2015 projections show this number grew to 33,000, the most nationally. Per Scholas will expedite the transition of our military veterans into this in-demand industry and help address these job needs.