Military Spouse Powerhouse

By Jennifer Holliday
Alabama Military Family Liaison

South Huntsville is home to many of Madison County’s military spouses, service members, and Veterans. You probably know that already. But did you know that there is a hidden gem in the military community? It’s one that employers don’t always see – the military spouse employee. Not all military spouses are job or career-oriented, but the number of military spouses in the workforce has grown significantly over the last 20 years. Working with military spouses, you’ll find they are some of the hardest working and most resilient employees, able to lead their peers and adjust to change on a dime. Unfortunately, due to several significant barriers, they are often under-employed or unemployed following a PCS (Permanent Change of Station) move.

Lieutenant Governor Ainsworth and the Alabama Heroes Welcome Initiative are working hard to help alleviate those barriers. The 2018 Military Family Jobs Opportunity Act requires most of our State occupational licensure boards to provide temporary or permanent licenses to military spouses moving here with their service members on PCS orders. Initial licensing fees are also waived under this law. Since 2019, Alabama has also joined 11 interstate compacts that reduce licensing barriers in some industries not covered by the 2018 Act. These actions offer a great opportunity for career portability, but many military spouses still face issues when their resumes do not reflect the experience or keywords employers are seeking and/or they have employment gaps due to frequent PCS moves. Additionally, not all military spouses work in license-oriented careers.

In 2019, the overall impact of Department of Defense (DoD) activities accounted for more than 21% of Alabama’s economy.1 Locally, in the Redstone Region, over 53% of our economy was driven by DoD activities.1 However, military spouses and Veterans provide even more power to our economy, as they not only fill direct-impact jobs but also those benefiting the wider community. Some have even been the driving force behind new small businesses that are energizing the local economy.

In my role as the Alabama Military Family Liaison, I help incoming military-connected spouses, service members/Veterans, and their families engage with the resources and people in our area who are best positioned to help them through major life transitions, like a move or retiring/separating from the military and establishing Alabama as their new home. This can be anything from finding the right fit in a volunteer organization to finding a new job or building new networks.

The Alabama Heroes Welcome Initiative website showcases local resources, including networking organizations and military spouse licensure reciprocity information.

Going beyond the website, I work with employers, organizations, and military spouses to bridge the communications gaps that sometimes exist and help those spouses directly connect with vetted resources. One of those resources is the new Military Spouse Fellowship Program, a public-private partnership between the DoD and Hiring Our Heroes (HOH).

If you are a local employer, I encourage you to learn more about this and other programs you can engage to help match you with military spouse employees. If you are a military spouse or other military-connected job seeker, you can find Local, State, and Federal resources at www.heroeswelcome.alabama.gov.

Connect with me on LinkedIn (@jenniferholliday1) or via email at jen@heroeswelcome.alabama.gov for more information and to schedule briefings for your company, organization, or military spouse group.