Operation KickStart, A Forward March Program, uses the latest technology, gaming concepts and the human touch to connect Guardsmen with civilian employment.

The Florida National Guard, in collaboration with long-time partner Paxen Learning, has launched a new job-seeker program designed to better assist Guardsmen find meaningful civilian employment. Initially operated as a pilot program, Operation KickStart, a Forward March program, combines the latest online job-search technology, gaming strategies and hands-on coaching to help Guardsmen find the right job to meet their military skill set, and keep them encouraged during the job-search process.

Operation KickStart features the LifeVille Social Game Platform.  The players earn points in the game by taking job search actions like researching opportunities, sending resumes and making follow up calls.  Then as they share about what they are doing they can engage support from their friends and family by using the “Share on Facebook” feature.

According to Coach Dave Buck, LifeVille CEO, Facebook integration is essential to success: ” A lot of times folks who struggle to find a job go into isolation from their friends and family.  But this is the exact opposite of what they should do!  The game encourages them to get into action and share everything they are doing with their team mates in the game and with everyone they know on Facebook.  The game system makes this VERY easy and ultimately this is where many job opportunities come from.   And having a Certified Coach to help them with their career search game plan and improving their interview skills really helps too!”.

This is a unique strategy that speaks directly to a generation that has grown up with, and enjoys, video and online games and relies on social networks for connections.

Operation KickStart also features the US Military Pipeline™ (www.usmilitarypipeline.com), an innovative online career-matching tool and talent platform from Futures Inc., the leader in talent management technology, that allows Guardsmen to accurately determine which civilian jobs best link up with their military experience/skills. The tool also allows job seekers to pinpoint employment opportunities that meet their specific location, align their MOS to civilian jobs and satisfy their pay requirements. The listing of available jobs is aggregated from all national job postings and refreshed daily.

To help keep Guardsmen motivated and proactive during the job-search process, Paxen also has teamed up with CoachVille, a premier coach training and certification company. Each Guardsman also is teamed up with an Operation KickStart “coach” from Paxen who provides hands-on support by way of resume help, interview preparation, and skills development training needed to not only find and maintain employment, but increase success at their civilian career choice.

During the next few months, Operation KickStart representatives will be at various Florida National Guard locations to introduce the program, provide information, answer questions and register interested Guardsmen. Of note, members of the Florida National Guard not able to attend one of these sessions can still register and take part in the program.

For more information and to register for Operation KickStart, contact Roy Clark, Paxen Learning Corporation, 850-491-5146 or rclark@paxen.com.