Liberty Wing hosts job fair to combat unemployment

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Andria J. Allmond
  • 512th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  According to a 2013 White House report, the military separates between 240,000 and 360,000 service members yearly. Also, a Bureau of Labor statistics report identified a growing number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with an unemployment rate surpassing both their civilian counterparts and veterans of former conflicts.

The 512th Airlift Wing Airman & Family Readiness office's Master Sgt. Laura Coseglia said she won't sit back and watch her fellow reservists join that trend.

Along with the Key Spouse organization, the Delaware representative for Hero 2 Hired Guy Johnson, and the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve representative Maj. Chris Radziewicz, Coseglia crafted a two-day resume class and job fair, May 3-4 here.

"With leadership support, this is our effort to bring resources to the military member and their family (in order) to meet an expressed need," she said. "This job fair is taking place over the (unit training assembly), because this has been one of the top reasons that people come to see us."

In classic Team Dover style, the invitation was passed to the wing's active-duty counterparts as well.

"We also coordinated with the active duty to ensure that their members (were) aware of this event and (were) invited to participate," she continued. "Force shaping has significantly affected (them), and we wanted to ensure that we could provide necessary resources to all our military families."

Kicking off the weekend's event, the resume class hosted approximately 20 service members, retirees and spouses. Speaker and ESGR volunteer Diane Hayward worked with attendees to fine tune their current resumes and job interview style. But, Hayward said the opportunity to interact with members has a deeper meaning to her.

"This is my way of saying thank you," she addressed the crowd. "This is my way of giving back. I want you to come out of this today and take with you the information that will make you successful at the fair and at life."

Sunday's affair put Airmens' new resume skills into motion as attendees gathered at the Landings here and perused job booths, meeting potential employers. The event proved to be a win-win for Team Dover and the employers.

"Many of us (in the Wilmington Police Department) are former military, and we see the traits that we're looking for in the military members here," said Cpl. Justin Cannon, Wilmington PD.

His booth was visited by many interested possible recruits during the job fair. One of them was Senior Airman Stephen Slavin, of the 512th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. Interested in a possible career in law enforcement, Slavin asked questions to multiple officers of the department about their career.

"This event would definitely be considered as success for us," said Cannon.
Bobby Angelo, of Mid-Atlantic AAA, shared Cannon's sentiments.

"We're looking for qualified auto mechanics for our new car care program," said Angelo. "We have 14 open now and are planning to open eight more in 2014. We figure that if someone can fix an airplane, they definitely can work on a car. This is a place for us to find the best people for that job."

Those looking for employment also seemed to be enjoying the job fair, taking advantage of the packed house of opportunity.

Senior Airman Leo Avilva, 709th Airlift Squadron flight engineer said he was impressed with the varying booths and multitude of options available as he reviewed the AstraZeneca table hosted by representative Bryan Huntington.

Throughout the weekend's events, the Hero 2 Hired mobile job store was set up and parked outside the Landings. The roving unit offered another venue for job searchers to access employment prospects.

Chief Master Sgt. Reginald Edwards, Family and Employer Program and Policy chief and Senior Enlisted Advisor for the District of Columbia National Guard, guided members on how to use the H2H kiosks. He also answered questions and gave background about the program.

"H2H is a (Department of Defense) program designed for reserve members who came off of active-duty employment only to find that they no longer had a job," he said. "Spouses, guardsmen and active-duty members are also able to participate in this program.

"This is what we call 'hi-tech, hi-touch' meaning that the technology is fast, easy-to-use and extremely effective. The other part, the 'hi-touch' portion, means that members are never alone. With H2H, those who sign up will have an employment transition coordinator with them along the way. They are never alone."

The Delaware ESGR representatives expressed the same sentiments.

"All of us here today, this isn't just a one-time deal," said Hayward. "We are here to help all of you through the process. We're here to help you succeed."

For more information on future employment workshops and job fairs, contact the 512th Airman & Family Readiness office at (302) 677-3566.