What’s a Transition Assistance Program?

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Transition Assistance Programs (TAPs) help military personnel transition to civilian life, with a focus on finding employment. TAPs offer workshops, counseling, job listings, and assistance for families. Participation in TAPs can lead to finding work earlier and securing better jobs. Disability Transition Assistance Programs (DTAPs) provide additional support for disabled veterans.

A Transition Assistance Program (TAP) is designed to help people who are transitioning from a period of military service to the civilian world. In particular, most TAPs focus on helping veterans enter the civilian job market, using a variety of tools to assist veterinarians in their job searches and to connect them with potential employers. Many militaries around the world offer some form of Transition Assistance Program and details are usually made readily available at base program offices and Veterans Service Centers.

These programs can help people who are separating or retiring from the service, as well as veterans with disabilities, by providing services tailored to individual situations. A transition assistance program typically offers workshops for departing military personnel that talk about how to look for work, how to prepare resumes, what to do in a job interview, and how to connect with the best jobs possible. Many programs offer counseling, job listing services, and assistance for spouses and families as well.

In some cases, a transition assistance program can help department service members with housing search, moving costs, and other elements of transitioning into civilian life. Especially for career military retirees, the change can be surprising and hard to get used to, as the military has a very specific social structure that is markedly different from that of the civilian world. These people may be unfamiliar with, for example, many aspects of the job search process, from where to look for work to what to put on a resume.

In the United States, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs says people who participate in TAP find work about three weeks earlier than those who don’t. Participation in a transition assistance program can also help someone secure a more suitable job with higher wages and a congenial, military-friendly workplace. Veterans have a unique set of skills and abilities that many workplaces are eager to exploit, and a TAP program can help potential employers connect with suitable job candidates.

In a Disability Transition Assistance Program (DTAP), special attention is given to veterans who may face unique challenges due to disabilities caused by military service. These programs help disabled veterans connect with services designed specifically for them, and also encourage disabled veterans to find jobs that are right for them. In regions with laws that protect people with disabilities from discrimination, a DTAP can show veterans how to access employment fairly and how to fight suspected discrimination.




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