 Active duty service members transitioning to the civilian sector often find it challenging to translate their military skills into civilian skills, prepare a fitting résumé, and apply for jobs. Realizing he needed help, Staff Sgt.Thomas Woletz found the assistance he needed working with Jefferson City Job Center’s Disabled Veteran Outreach Program Specialist (DVOP), Shawn Burch.
When Woletz was discharged from the Army in May 2015 and moved to Jefferson City, he had no idea where he was going to work. He had joined the Army reserves and was a member of the 428th Transportation Company, but wasn’t sure what job opportunities were available to him. While in the military, Woletz was a Military Transport Operator, where he held duty as an armorer, but spent most of his time in leadership positions. Woletz hoped that he could find a job doing specialty work.
While working with Burch, Woletz found an open armorer position with Central Missouri Machine Gun (CMMG), a Show-Me Heroes employer. Woletz had most of the unique qualifications, but was lacking a few specific skills for the position. The Job Center’s OJT coordinator contacted CMMG and discussed Woletz’ experience, skills, and missing special qualifications, then offered a winning solution for both. Through the Show-Me Heroes On-the-Job Training program, CMMG could train Woletz to their exact job duties while receiving partial wage reimbursement. CMMG did not hesitate to hire Woletz!
Staff Sgt. Woletz is happy with his job and CMMG is glad they found a valuable employee with a unique skill set. “The SMH OJT program allowed me to do a job I love to do and provided me the opportunity to learn and grow,” Woletz said.
The Missouri Division of Workforce Development’s OJT program can pay 50 percent of the salary of a qualified employee for up to six months while they are trained in specific areas, and the process is easy. For more information about the Show-Me Heroes OJT program, go to showmeheroes.mo.gov or contact Major Michelle Matthews at (573) 526-0450.
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Transitioning military personnel can now use their military code or title to discover related civilian occupations/careers within the O*NET OnLine Military Crosswalk Search or My Next Move for Veterans’ Military Transition Search. There are currently over 11,000 MOC occupations linked to related O*NET-SOC occupations.
The Military Occupational Classification (MOC) crosswalk search was recently updated by the Department of Defense and is now incorporated into both the O*NET OnLine and My Next Move for Veterans websites. Visit one of these sites and give it a try today!
Show-Me Heroes Director, Major Michelle Matthews, and Wayne Woodworth, Local Veterans Employment Representative, met Doug Mayse, owner of the local “Your Hometown Weekly” newspaper, at a networking event in Harrisonville. A Veteran himself, Mayse was so impressed with the program’s efforts to help Veterans become employed that he wrote a SMH program article, published it in his newspaper, and posted about the program on the newspaper’s Facebook page.
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Show-Me Heroes program Flag of Freedom Awards were recently presented to the following Missouri businesses:
- Arvest Bank, Joplin
- Atlas Risk Management, Joplin
- GH Tool & Mold, Inc., Washington
- Kraft Heinz Company, Columbia
- MetalTek, Pevely
- Midwest Container, Barnhart
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Laura Pearson wasn’t prepared when she was let go from her dream job caring for the elderly, a position she had held for the last two years. Having never been unemployed, she wasn’t sure how to collect unemployment or look for a new position. Even her ability to hold on to her apartment was in question, and Laura had previously endured homelessness before building a new life for herself.
Laura decided that she would go back to being a CNA. Nineteen years ago she had taken her CNA class before joining the military, and since then held various jobs, but nursing remained near and dear to her heart. Read the article on Laura's story submitted by the City of St. Louis' SLATE Job Center.
 Missouri National Guard Veteran Jeremy Amick’s mission in life is to share fellow Veterans’ stories of time spent serving their country. Amick, pictured here with World War II Veteran and French Legion of Honor Medal recipient John Sullivan, donates his time sharing the military experiences of Veterans so that their stories live on.
Amick, assistant director for Veterans Employment and Training Service in Missouri, was recently named a 2016 Jefferson Award recipient for Southwest Missouri. The award is the country’s most prestigious and longest standing public service award. He was nominated by Diana Creed-Newton, co-founder of the Silver Star Families of America organization. Silver Star's mission is to remember, honor, and assist wounded, ill, injured and dying military members from all wars.
Amick, one of six Missouri recipients of the award, will be recognized in April at a banquet in Springfield. To see a KOKR10 feature on Amick, please click here.
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