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My ICP: helping families find jobs

7 Feb 2014 | Cpl. Sarah Cherry Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort

 

My Individual Career Plan, a new online tool, helps military spouses create a virtual roadmap of their education and careers.

With MyICP, spouses can make adjustments to their personalized plan at any time and track their progress.

The program is a Department of Defense initiative launched
Jan. 10, and one of many tools that Family Member Employment Assistance Program has to help ease spouses and children down their chosen career paths.

"The Family Member Employment Assistance Program was developed in 1985 to assist Marine spouses on acquiring jobs or getting them job-ready," said Jessie Hershey, FMEAP counselor. "Part of our mission is taking care of Marine family members. That’s always been the goal, and we want to make sure everybody’s comfortable and happy where they are right now."

Some of the free tools FMEAP offers are resume workshops, interview skills classes, assistance with applying for jobs, and one-on-one counseling.

"It’s great, free training. It helps keep up with the latest and greatest way to get a job," said Hershey. "A spouse can come in and say, ‘I don’t even know where to start, but I’d like to get work.’ So I ask them a little about their background and if they have a resume we’ll look at that."

From there, Hershey can provide guidance, recommend workshops and classes, or help begin a job search.

Hershey said the success of helping people find jobs is gratifying.

"When [family members] get a job, they’ll e-mail me or call me all excited. It makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something as well."