BRAC and Defense : Innovation + Job News

BRAC has created many new job opportunities in Baltimore and the metro region. The Base Realignment and Closure Program, first implemented by the Department of Defense in 1999, is designed to streamline the military's base expenditures by consolidating operations into some bases while closing others. The program is designed to produce more efficient facilities and promote better use of resources through all branches of the military. The final phase of the most recent mandates of the BRAC program has begun and is scheduled to be completed by September 2011.

Fort Meade, Aberdeen Proving Ground, and other military facilities in Maryland have seen an influx of new personnel and resources as the BRAC program has progressed. The program has created thousands of jobs in Maryland, both on and off base. As the program enters its final phase of implementation, area economic development agencies have hosted several information sessions for Maryland job seekers.

This week the Howard Country Office of Workforce Development, in conjunction with the Anne Arundel County Workforce Development Corporation, will be holding their fourth and final workshop on the job opportunities that have been created by BRAC. The event is intended to provide participants with the most up to date information about job growth and opportunity as the final phase of the BRAC program is implemented in Maryland. Organizers have been careful to market the event as an informative presentation and not a job fair.

At the workshop, representatives from federal agencies and private companies will be on hand. Discussion will focus on the types of job opportunities that this phase of the program is creating, the location of those jobs, and the application process that job seekers will be undergoing. Since many of the jobs created by the BRAC program involve applicants possessing or obtaining a security clearance, a representative from the Defense Information Systems Agency will also be available to explain the security clearance process.

"This is our chance to provide job seekers with the most accurate, up to date information on BRAC related jobs in our area," says Francine Trout, Director of Howard County's Office of Workforce Development.

The final free workshop outlining the job opportunities created by the BRAC program will be held at the Arundel High School auditorium, 1001 Annapolis Road in Gambrills on Tuesday, May 3 from 7 � 8:30 pm.

Writer: Amy McNeal
Source: Jeryl Baker and Francine Trout, Howard County Office of Workforce Development