IT support program coming to JBLM for transitioning service members and spouses

A new certificate program is coming for area military members seeking to move into the civilian tech industry.

Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the tech giant, on Monday announced a $2.5 million grant to the USO. The grant adds the Google IT Support Professional Certificate to those offered at the USO Pathfinder Office at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and at Joint-Base Lewis McChord.

The program will begin Oct. 1.

“There is an opportunity to equip service members with IT skills as they move on to their next chapter after military service and to help address the spouse unemployment/underemployment problem with highly portable careers in the IT industry,” Alan Reyes, USO senior vice president of Operations, Programs and Transition, said in a news release.

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Google.org notes in its release that, “as the majority of IT support positions do not require a college degree but do require prior experience, this certificate is designed to give learners the training and experience they need to get a job in this growing field.

“With 150,000 specific-IT job openings available across the United States, this program will provide an almost immediate benefit for companies seeking to fill these positions.”

According to the release, those who complete the program will have the chance to network with more than 20 employers, including Google, Cognizant, Bank of America, GE Digital, Hulu, Infosys, Intel, Kforce, MCPc, PNC Bank, RICOH USA, Sprint, TEKSystems, UPMC and Veterans United Home Loans.

Also participating are members of the Walmart family of businesses, such as Sam’s Club, Shoes.com, Jet, Allswell, Bonobos, Hayneedle, Modcloth, Moosejaw, Store No 8 and Vudu.

In addition, Google is tweaking its job search engine.

“Beginning today,” the release states, “service members can now search ‘jobs for veterans’ on Google and then enter their military occupational specialty code (MOS, AFSC, NEC) to see relevant civilian jobs that require similar skills to those used in their military roles.

“Additionally, employers can implement this feature on their own career sites using Google Cloud’s Talent Solution API.”

For more information, go to https://bit.ly/2wu5SYz or https://grow.google/

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