Military Spouse Employment Opportunities Grow with Partnerships

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Department of Defense (DoD) Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) celebrated the commitment to military spouse employment for more than 30 new companies at the MSEP Partner Induction Ceremony Nov. 14 at the Navy Yard in Washington.

Laure Ferguson, wife of Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mark Ferguson, was a featured speaker at the event designed to build on the more than 27,000 military spouses who have already been hired through the MSEP partnership.

The new MSEP Partners signed the MSEP Statement of Support, pledging to increase employment opportunities for military spouses, maintain employment status for military spouses as they relocate, provide career promotion opportunities for military spouses, and ensure pay equity for military spouses commensurate with their level of training, work experience, accomplishments, and credentials.

"Our spouses have a wide variety of education and job skills. There will be someone who has the background you are looking for, and has the drive to succeed," Ferguson explained to the new MSEP partner executives.

While illustrating the diverse talent pool military spouses provide to employers, she recognized the opportunities MSEP is providing are certainly two-fold.

"Having a job and career opportunities makes all the difference in the world during transitions at whatever time they take place, both planned and unplanned," Ferguson said. "And for those spouses who are caring for our wounded, ill or injured service members, we owe a very special debt of gratitude. They, more than anyone else, deserve career and employment opportunities in our best, most successful and forward leaning companies: companies just like you here today!"

The new Partners were welcomed by more than 100 current MSEP Partner executives, members of Congress, military service assistant secretaries, senior military spouses of the service chiefs of staff, and military spouse employees of MSEP companies.

MSEP was launched by Dr. Jill Biden on June 29, 2011, to serve spouses from all military services. MSEP has expanded rapidly to more than 100 Fortune 500 Plus employers who have pledged to recruit, hire, promote, and retain military spouses in portable careers. As of July 6, MSEP Partners have posted more than 551,731 jobs on the MSEPjobs web portal, https://msepjobs.militaryonesource.mil/.