Drexel Offers Free Workshops to Help Female Veterans Rejoin the Workforce

The five workshops focus on identifying skills acquired during military service and translating these skill sets to civilian employment.

Women represent the fastest growing segment of the veteran population, yet programs on educational opportunities and employment issues specifically for female veterans are severely lacking. Drexel University’s Goodwin College of Professional Studies has created a program to help this underserved and growing veteran population successfully reintegrate into the workforce.

The program consists of five workshops with an overarching focus on identifying skills acquired during military service and translating these skill sets to civilian employment. Each participant also will have access to a personal skill and career evaluation session, and will participate in two one-on-one career coaching sessions.

Throughout the program, representatives from emerging employment sectors, such as green construction, will attend the workshops to speak about the needs of their respective industries and the available employment opportunities.

“Female veterans have, historically and currently, higher unemployment rates than their male counterparts,” said Rosalie Guzofsky, director of adult education for the Goodwin College. “And, unlike male veterans, who have lower unemployment rates than male non-veterans, female veterans have higher unemployment than both non-veteran men and women. It is in response to this troublesome data that we designed this innovative program to help unemployed or underemployed female veterans of all campaigns to reintegrate successfully into the civilian labor force.

The workshops include:

• Civilianizing Your Military Experience
  Saturday, March 16, from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
  This workshop teaches participants how to break down talents into potential skills that showcase true capabilities. Participants will learn to identify transferable skills learned in the military and other previous jobs that can be transferred to another industry or sector of the economy.
• Writing Resumes That Get You Hired
  Saturday, March 16 and Saturday, March 30 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Participants will learn to write concise resumes by selecting key words and experiences, customizing resumes for specific jobs and creating resumes that stand out. One-on-one feedback will be provided to each participant by a qualified career coaches.
• From Job Search to Job Offer
  Saturday, March 30 and Saturday, April 13 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Participants will learn to put in place a thorough job search plan, in order to shorten the job search and secure a job offer.  Each participant will also receive career coaching.

• Interview Like a Superstar
  Saturday, April 13 and Saturday, May 4 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
  This workshop teaches participants how to present themselves in a confident manner, prepare for upcoming job interviews and develop answers to frequently asked questions. Also covered are effective techniques for handling unexpected questions or comments, how to use body language effectively and how to close a job interview and ask for the job.

• Entrepreneurship: Thinking Like a Business Person
  Saturday, May 4 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
  Participants will explore whether or not they are suited to create and run their own business. Pitfalls and benefits of self-employment will be discussed.  Creativity exercises also will be provided in this workshop by Goodwin’s Torrance Center for Creativity and Innovation.

Those who are interested in attending should contact Adult Education Program Assistant Patricia Gremmell at 215-895-2154 or at patricia.gremmel@drexel.edu for more information and to register.

The Goodwin College has partnered with the local Workforce Investment Boards, the Veterans Multi Service Center of Philadelphia and Project H.O.M.E. to identify and recruit qualified participants. Workshop instruction and career coaching will be provided by JanBara Associates.