VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The mission of the Airman and Family Readiness Center at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. is to provide a diverse amount of programs and services for families throughout their military careers as well as transition them to civilian life.
Jennifer Barbour, the A&FRC community readiness consultant, assists many people that are in need of employment.
“I’m a community readiness consultant at the Airman and Family Readiness Center and my main program is employment,” said Barbour. “We help with resumes, we do different workshops for interviewing, mock interviews, resume building for federal and civilians and we offer a plethora of different resources to help gain employment for the military community.”
Barbour’s job covers several areas that help the various groups of people that come to the center for help to prepare themselves for new career opportunities.
“We execute 10 steps to federal employment, spouse reimbursement when they move and priority placement for spouses that have a higher preference when they are applying for jobs,” Barbour said.
Before Barbour and her spouse moved to Vandenberg, she was a certified nursing assistant.
“When we moved here I was a CNA and I had to go through the process of getting fingerprinted again, background checked and test for the state of California,” said Barbour. “I was wanting to start work as soon as we got here; it took almost six months before I was able to get certified and have a CNA license in California.”
For many military families, including Barbour’s family, getting the opportunity to keep their careers once their loved ones get an assignment in California would be the ideal solution for military spouses. Starting January 1, 2023, the licensure for veterans and military spouse’s bill will issue temporary licenses to practice a profession or vocation, including licenses issued by any board within the department. In order to receive the temporary license, the applicant must provide the appropriate documentation, proving they have passed a California law and ethics examination. The bill would call for a board to issue the license within 30 days of receiving the required documents. On or after July 1, 2023 the temporary license will be good for 12 months, which is not renewable after the 12 months are completed and can be revoked if the license holder engages in unprofessional conduct.
“I am excited to learn of this opportunity, specifically for military spouses, because a lot of people just don’t want to go through the hassle of recertifying,” said Barbour. “I feel like this bill will bring a lot more customers to us at the Airman and Readiness Center, because they need the information and want to know how to go about the process, so I’m excited on both ends.”