Monday, January 12, 2015

Fellowship for Opportunity & Success

Local companies are welcoming heroes of the Heroes Corporate Fellowship program, a partnership between Joint Base Lewis-McCord (JBLM) and Hiring Our Heroes (HOH)/U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

The Corporate Fellows program is a result of the Transition Summit held at JBLM in October 2014. The Veteran & Business Service via the Chamber partnership with WorkForce Central, was deeply involved in the planning and implementation of the Summit through supporting the collaborative employment initiatives (one being the Corporate Fellows Program) which have resulted from the energy of the Summit.

The Corporate Fellows program provides separating service members who already have a degree and some years of military experience opportunities to connect with a corporate sponsor, become more familiar with the civilian work place, step into the vernacular of civilian society, and build key relationships that will lead to a meaningful civilian career and successful transition.

The Corporate Fellows program participants are soon-to-separate service members enrolled in the Camo2Commerce Program, vetted through a competitive interview event and do a 3-month project for a corporate sponsor. The participating service members continue to receive their military salary and are released from military activities to pursue the fellowship. Many of the participants will have an opportunity to interview for a position with the corporate sponsor for whom they have completed the 3-month project. It is a win-win for everyone involved and provides a critical “leg up” for separating service members as they transition to civilian life.

The individuals chosen by the Chamber will be doing projects aimed at evaluating the impact and effectiveness of the Veteran & Business Service activity and supporting various general development activities of the Chamber.

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