Increasing education, skill sets goal of 365 TRS civilian mentoring program

  • Published
  • By Dan Hawkins
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Civilian employees of the 365th Training Squadron interested in career advancement have to look no further than the squadron's civilian development program.

The voluntary program is designed to help mentor civilians into leadership positions in civil service.

Lt. Col. Anthony Antoline, 365th TRS commander, believes unit leadership needs to groom employees for the next level through education, training, providing opportunity and rewarding motivation.

"The skill sets we need for our civilians to possess are critical to our continuity and efficiency," Antoline said. "The only way to do that, is to provide opportunity for growth and breadth of experience. Supervisors are the link in making that happen."

Joseph Rock, 365th TRS Training Support flight chief and retired Air Force senior master sergeant, implemented the informal program in January 2011 after moving into his current position 365th TRS Training Support flight chief.

"The program is really based off the civilian mentorship program started by Risa Hillard (82nd Training Group) a few years ago," Rock said. "The intent is to help the GS-9 and GS-11 employees in the best possible position to compete for promotion opportunities."

As the senior civilian in the unit and in the hiring process for the unit, Rock looks for resumes that stand out from the crowd.

"As a hiring official, I am looking for ways to identify candidates willing to go above and beyond what is expected of them when I am reviewing resumes," he said. "How do you set yourself apart? Initiative will stand out on paper."

Setting up employees for success includes looking at development through education, both professional and civilian.

"I took advantage of the opportunity to take the Air Command and Staff College master's degree program as a way to enhance my resume and professional knowledge base," said Rock, who graduated from ACSC with a master's degree in military studies operational art and science.

The opportunity to attend Squadron Officer School, either online or in-residence, is also available to civilians.

"GS-9s are eligible for SOS," Rock said. "It is harder to get selected to go in-residence to SOS, but not impossible. We had three people apply for the in-residence course this year and are just waiting on the results of the selection process, but we are hopeful."

Another way the unit tries to mentor personnel is by increasing employees' skill sets.

"We try to move civilians into different job positions to give them experience in different areas and build their skill sets," Rock said. "If you stay in a job for too long, you can get stale, so we try to help people avoid that if at all possible."

Mentorship is not all about education; it's about feedback on a daily basis.

"I believe in day-to-day communication with my employees as well," Rock said. "I had someone who mentored me that way and I remember it to this day."

One of the recent development sessions in the unit included a presentation by Rock on how to update the MyPers system with resumes.

"Sometimes not everything is fully explained to everyone and it can be complicated," Rock said. "We want to make sure everyone understands the process and they don't get left behind for simply not knowing how to do something."