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Enhanced TAP training hits Schriever this December
Posted 10/31/2012 Updated 10/31/2012
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by Scott Prater
Schriever Sentinel
10/31/2012 - SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- As part of a military-wide initiative to provide enhanced transition assistance for service members, Schriever's Airman and Family Readiness Center will begin offering an overhauled Transition Assistance Program this December.
"The new TAP program comes in response to alarming veteran-employment statistics," said Andrea Hernandez, Schriever TAP program manager.
Veterans ages 18 to 24 have an unemployment rate of 32.2 percent, nearly double the average of non-veterans according to a 2011 Interagency Data Analysis Group study, which used Bureau of Labor and Statistics monthly data as it primary source. The study also indicated that veterans age 25-34 have an unemployment rate of 11.1 percent compared to 9.2 percent for non-veterans."
Launched in 1990, the TAP workshop was created to assist military members during their transition to the civilian workforce. Members who were soon to separate and retirees learned resume and interviewing skills and were introduced to job-finding resources.
Influenced by the Veterans Opportunity to Work Act, legislation that was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2011, the new TAP workshop expands on those features and offers a longer and more in-depth experience for attendees. Service members who are separating are mandated to attend five days of briefings, three by Department of Labor instructors, one by Veterans Affairs personnel and another by base AFRC staff.
Federal organizers have set a goal to standardize the workshop nationwide and offered a week-long training session for AFRC personnel last August to emphasize the enhance material.
Bill Sokolis, Schriever A&FRC chief, attended the training sessions along with Hernandez.
"Emphasizing the education and employment aspects of TAP should lower the rate of unemployment among our veterans," Sokolis said. "This alone makes the new TAP requirements worthwhile."
According to a DOD news release, the revamped program is the first major overhaul of TAP for military members in nearly 20 years. The new course even has a new name, "TAP GPS", which stands for goals, planning and success.
"There's an entire curriculum involved in the enhanced workshop," Hernandez said. "As A&FRC personnel, we conduct the first day's events, relaying the overview, the individual transition plan and conduct the financial portion. The Department of Labor representatives then tackle the curriculum on days two through four and the VA representatives handle the last day."
Separating members must also undergo enhanced scrutiny to qualify for an exemption from attending.
"In the past, separating members have told their superiors that they have a plan and they end up getting an exemption from attending TAP; then, it turns out their plan had issues," Hernandez said. "This TAP initiative attempts to prevent that. Separators must now show their plan, their employment or their educational program enrollment in order to gain an exemption from all sessions except the VA session."
Hernandez indicated that transition support will also not end with the TAP workshop. Veterans Affairs representatives will be available to answer questions on a full-time basis at Peterson AFB.
The IDAG study estimated that more than 1 million service members will leave the military between now and 2016.
Retirees are asked to begin their TAP training at least two years from their retirement date, while it's recommended for separators to attend the workshop at least one year from their separation date.
The Schriever A&FRC plans to offer TAP GPS 10 times during 2013. Anyone interested in learning more about the new program or has questions about separation can call the A&FRC at 567-3920 for more information.
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