JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
From professional development training to retraining assistance, the career assistance advisors of Joint Base Langley-Eustis have a plethora of resources to help Airmen throughout their career.
“Career assistance advisor is a multifaceted position and there are two roles,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Brent Likes, JBLE career assistance advisor. “The first role is we help people out with some personnel programs that might be difficult for them, like retraining or base of preference applications. The [second role] is professional development, like the first term Airmen center, NCO professional enhancement seminar and the senior NCO professional enhancement seminar.”
According to Senior Master Sgt. Kimberly Noseworthy, JBLE career assistance advisor, professional development seminars are geared toward individuals at different levels of their career to teach about counseling, mentorship and leadership. Not only are Airmen taught how to be aware of themselves, but they are taught how to interact with and understand others as well.
“Supervisors are really busy and I know they do what they can to make sure that their Airmen are taken care of, we just take it a step further,” said Noseworthy. “We're able to give them a little bit more attention when it comes to retraining, commissioning and professional development courses. We focus more on that part while the supervisor can take care of their Airmen on the operational side.”
According to Noseworthy, aside from educational training and professional development courses, career assistance advisors spend a lot of time in one-on-one sessions to advise Airmen on retraining.
“We have a base shadowing program where we take an individual who’s interested in ,” Noseworthy said. “We get them linked up with someone that's already in that so that if they want to retrain, they're making an informed decision.”
A first term Airman has a window within their first enlistment during which they can retrain. As a career Airman, they are a part of the NCO retraining program and depending on the retraining listing, they may have an opportunity to retrain into a different career field.
“We provide [Airmen] with multiple options for what they might be interested to do for their career in ways that can both benefit them and continue to benefit the Air Force,” Likes said.
While career assistance advisors mostly help enlisted Airmen, their services can benefit officers, DoD civilians, spouses and service members from other branches.
For more information or to speak with a career assistance advisor visit their Facebook page JBLE Professional Development Center, walk-in from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the professional development center or call 757-764-3166.