Air Force to boost civilian hiring
Service plans recruiting and marketing effort to bring on thousands of employees.
The Air Force is looking for a few good civilians. During the next five years, the service plans to add about 2,500 civilian positions through converting hundreds of military and contractor jobs to civilian slots and other organizational changes.
To broaden the pool of candidates for these openings, service leaders in March will launch a pilot program aimed at improving the way bases market jobs locally. The goals are to recruit more qualified candidates, fill positions faster and increase employment opportunities for military spouses.
"We're looking for a range of skills, from grounds maintenance personnel to nuclear physicists," said Shirlene LeBleu, chief of the Civilian Force Renewal Branch at the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. "In the past we haven't had a global effort to reach out to communities about jobs."
Each installation participating in the pilot program will receive a toolkit to help officials improve outreach to local communities, colleges and universities. The tools include Base Exchange radio spots; public service announcements for broadcast media; and videos, flyers and marketing guidance to help Air Force officials tailor their recruiting efforts to the local environment.
All Air Force bases in Europe and Kadena Air Base in Japan will begin the program in March and six U.S. bases will start in April. The six domestic bases are: Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.; Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.; Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii; Langley Air Force Base, Va.; Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas; and Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.
The test run will last three months, after which personnel managers will analyze data from the pilot program to refine the marketing strategy before expanding it servicewide this summer, Le Bleu said. Managers will compare the number and quality of candidates recruited during the pilot with those hired for comparable jobs during a similar period prior to the program.
In addition to the tool kit, marketing specialists at the Air Force Personnel Center will be available to provide advice to local personnel officials, according to Le Bleu.
"Many people just don't realize that they can come and work for the Air Force as a civilian employee," she said. "If they don't know about us, we can't recruit them."