Grand Forks Air Force Base offers SkillBridge program to address region workforce shortages – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS – Area employers facing workforce shortages are encouraged to take advantage of the SkillBridge program offered by Grand Forks Air Force Base, according to an announcement from the base.

Each year, nearly 200,000 military members of the U.S. Armed Forces, stationed at more than 140 military installations in the U.S. and abroad, complete their service and transition to civilian careers or pursue higher education. According to the base’s public relations office, approximately 250 people leave the GFAFB service each year.

Employers can tap into this pool of service members who are nearing the end of their deployment in the U.S. Air Force and are interested in workforce training programs offered by companies and other organizations in this field.

SkillBridge, a program sponsored by the federal Department of Defense, is a way to connect service members with potential career opportunities and facilitate service members’ reintegration into civilian life.

The program is designed to introduce service members to opportunities to gain valuable civilian, “real-world” work experience through specific industry training, apprenticeships or internships offered by companies and other organizations.

At GFAFB, pilots who are “retiring or on their second tour in Grand Forks typically consider staying local by looking at job and housing options,” said Lea Greene, GFAFB’s chief public affairs officer.

The SkillBridge program gives industry partners “early access to the extensive experience, skills and unparalleled work ethic that service workers bring to the workforce,” according to GFAFB’s announcement. “Employers are developing SkillBridge programs to meet their specific workforce needs, matching those needs with the skills and capabilities of highly motivated service workers. … SkillBridge partners across the country can take advantage of virtual, online or distance learning and training options.”

By partnering with SkillBridge, employers can meet their specific workforce needs at no cost. The service member’s salary and benefits are covered by the Department of Defense until the last 180 days of service. Service members may be given this time to focus solely on full-time training with approved industry partners, after authorized and approved by those in their chain of command.

For the employer, SkillBridge is an opportunity to access the most highly trained and motivated workforce in the world, the GFAFB announcement said. The employer provides in-demand work experience while having the opportunity to assess the service member’s suitability for future employment.

Commanders of military installations can make on-base facilities available to industrial partners for use in their SkillBridge programs, or service members can be authorized to train at the industrial partner’s location.

SkillBridge works like a traditional internship program, but employers must advertise their programs effectively to attract individual military members, Bradford Zielske said, education service officer at GFAFD.

“I have had several providers contact me by phone regarding a lack of participants in their SkillBridge programs,” Zielske said. “In both cases, the provider’s website did not have accurate information about their SkillBridge program.

“One site referred to the location of the provider’s headquarters, which was several states away, rather than the location of actual training and potential employment in North Dakota.”

Zielske encourages local industry partners to create a dedicated employment page for the SkillBridge program that military members can easily find, as well as posting on the SkillBridge industry and employer website.

Starting this month, the Department of Defense has moved to restructured, formalized enrollment periods for military members and is hosting routine webinars to assist industry partners. Interested employers can learn more about the program and register for free webinars; they can go

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Employers interested in participating in the program can receive assistance with the application process through Department of Defense webinars. Registration is open for the information session on the application process for new partners, which will take place on Wednesday, October 30 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM; a new session is planned for November 13 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM.

The fall registration period is open and runs until December 1. The spring registration period is available from February 1 to April 1.

Program partners include not only area companies and organizations, but also employers such as Amazon, John Deere, Lockheed Martin, UnitedHealth Group, the US Veterans Administration and hundreds of others, according to the GFAFB release.

Last August, the Department of Defense reported that 4,700 employers were registered in the program nationwide, Greene said. The number of locally registered employers is not available, but “(we) encourage interested employers to have a SkillBridge section, with precise locations visible, on the employment section of their website.”