Upskilling & Reskilling

Phase 4: Permanent Changes of Station

In addition to preparing your family and belongings for a PCS move, you should make employment-related arrangements. Determine a plan of action to maintain your employment readiness, whether that is to relocate your business; transfer your license; complete, pause, or transfer your schooling/education; or ensure a seamless transition in your remote position. Plan ahead and learn how to plug-in to your new community throughout a PCS move.

Phase 4: Permanent Changes of Station

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Milestone 3: Continue to Grow with each PCS-Upskilling and Education

Just as you must determine if any upskilling or education you were completing in your last location can continue, you are encouraged to look for fresh opportunities in every new location. Use each PCS as an opportunity to consider your successes and to identify any areas where you may need to focus more attention to reach your goals.

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Achieve success by focusing on transferable skills

Employers look for a variety of transferable skills, both technical and soft, alongside the traditional academic achievements of certifications, licenses and certificates. To elevate your impact in your career, identify the transferable skills that may benefit you the most in your discipline and seek out related training.

Recommendation: Focus on Training for Transferable Skills

  • Take a Skills Assessment. Visit the Self-Exploration section of the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities website for access to a variety of assessments that can help you identify your strongest technical and soft skills and any deficiencies.
  • Identify Transferable Skills You Want to Develop. Look at the results from your assessment and consider if you would benefit from training in transferable skills such as communication, critical thinking, self-management, project management or graphic design.
  • Find Training. Explore Online Training. Use online programs to search for transferrable skills training to strengthen deficiencies. Examples include Hiring Our Heroes’ Career Forward, edX, Coursera, Grow with Google, LinkedIn Learning, Primer, and GCFGlobal
  • Leverage Local Resources. Visit your library or your library’s website and search for Upskilling titles. Read any books that interest you, particularly those that help with adaptive or transferrable skills.
Military Spouse Event

Real Life Snapshot

One military spouse shared that he earned a financial planning certificate and now serves as a financial advisor. He moves with his role each time his spouse has a permanent change of station without the concern of licensing reciprocity. He told us that pursuing this additional certification has made all the difference in his career portability.

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Next steps after program completion

Once you have completed your training or degree program – and possibly even received a certificate or diploma – you may be wondering, what do I do now?  In addition to celebrating this milestone, don’t forget that learning and professional development are likely to be a life-long endeavor. Here are some suggestions to help you with your next steps after completing a program or course of study.

To-Do List Upon Completion of a Program or Course of Study

  •  Share your Successes.
    • Share the successful completion of any new training and education on your resume and other professional networking platforms, such as LinkedIn.
  • Search for a Job or Seek a Promotion.
    • Revisit Evaluating possible employment opportunities to begin your search for a new career.
    • If you anticipate a delay in finding a job, consider volunteering in an area that is related to your field of study to gain valuable experience and grow your network.
  • Start a Business or Become Self-Employed
    • If your training or upskilling inspired you to work for yourself, review the Entrepreneurship Journey for tips and resources to get your started on the right path. 
  • Continue to Seek Training and Educational Opportunities
    • Learning to enhance your career is a lifelong process. Use the resources shared throughout this map to help you find fresh and updated ways to learn, in person and online.

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Up Next: Milestone 4: Redefining work-life balance