Helping Soldiers Leverage Army Knowledge Skills And Abilities In Civilian Jobs

"As the Army reduces its end strength, the number of soldiers leaving the Regular Army has increased, raising concerns about unemployment and other transition problems for these veterans. To help improve the Army's transition assistance process, the authors of this report administered civilian occupation surveys to soldiers in selected Army military occupational specialties (MOSs) to assess the level and importance of the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed in these MOSs and to develop better crosswalks between military and civilian occupations. The authors also identified and separately analyzed survey questions associated with soft skills, such as leadership, teamwork, and attention to detail, to assist soldiers with translating their Army experience for civilian employers. The occupation surveys generated a rich database that was used to characterize the KSAs needed by Army soldiers to perform their MOSs, as well as other occupation attributes, such as work activities, work context, and work style. Furthermore, the crosswalks generated from the survey responses identified both a broader range of military-civilian occupation matches and higher-quality matches than existing crosswalks. Based on these results, we recommend that the Army communicate information about these job matches to both soldiers and potential employers and that it expand use of the occupation surveys to develop crosswalks for additional MOSs"--Publisher's description.

This report discusses the results of occupation surveys administered to soldiers in selected Army military occupational specialties (MOSs) to assess the level and importance of the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed in these MOSs and to develop better crosswalks between military and civilian occupations. The report identifies both a broader range of military-civilian occupation matches and higher-quality matches than existing crosswalks.

Drawing on the principles and research from industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology and best practices from human resources (HR) management, this book will help civilian employers improve the way that they locate, hire, and retain military veterans and military spouses. Each chapter provides accessible guidance founded in research and data from leaders and experts to help companies maximize the benefits of veteran employees. This book offers a summary of best in class practices that will enable veteran employers and employees to thrive.

Veterans have a great deal to offer to potential civilian employers, including valuable nontechnical skills, such as leadership, decisionmaking, being dependable, and attention to detail. However, for civilian employers, understanding what nontechnical skills veterans have received through training, education, and on-the-job experiences can be challenging, because military and civilian workplace cultures and languages can seem radically different from one another. This prototype toolkit is intended to help civilian employers understand the full value veterans can bring to their organizations. It focuses on the nontechnical skills addressed through selected formal military training and education courses and on-the-job experiences that are typical of enlisted combat arms jobs in the Army and Marine Corps. The toolkit begins with a letter that can be sent to employers, explaining the purpose of the other materials enclosed in the packet. The material following the letter is organized into three parts: (1) an introductory section that provides more information on the materials and how to use them, as well as some background on military terms; (2) descriptions of the specific formal courses selected, discussion of the nontechnical skills addressed in each course, and quick-access summary tables for all courses listing the top skills and competencies addressed; and (3) vignettes that illustrate on-the-job experiences relating to the nontechnical skills that are typical in a select set of combat arms occupations, as well as quick-access summary tables showing the criticality of each skill for performance in those jobs.