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Overview

Congratulations…You’re a Vets2PM SkillBridge Host!

Here you will find everything you need to successfully host your Vets2PM Resident Intern.

Upon MOU Signature

Welcome to the Vets2PM DoD SkillBridge program as a Host Employer. Here are suggestions for a successful internship. Now that you have approved a Resident Intern from Vets2PM you (the main POC) will begin receiving email messages from Vets2PM and they will reference this page often. This page contains documents you will need, strategies for success, and it should answer all your questions.

We have designated one POC from your company for each internship. It may be the talent acquisition person, or the hiring manager. When we send you emails, please ensure you forward the message internally to the hiring manager, or the person who needs to read that message.

Plan your internal process  for how you will onboard our intern in your system. Some Host Partners onboard their intern as a contractor with $0 pay;  others may handle it differently. Think about what works best for your company and use that process.

Identify & educate the intern’s manager on the program and your established processes.  Plan for any tools or equipment your intern will need; add them to your email system; add them to email distribution lists; provide them with materials you would send any employee, i.e., uniform items, access badge, etc.; whatever you need to do to ensure their onboarding process is smooth.

Intake Process for New Internships: Use the attached Internship Intake Form for each unique internship you would like us to fill. This form provides us everything we need to know to identify candidates, complete the candidate application for command approval, and properly invoice you once the intern begins.

As an additional resource we published a Facebook group named Vets2PM SkillBridge Exchange. We utilize this page to share your SkillBridge internship (and job postings, if applicable) opportunities. Feel free to join the group and share anything you’d like to reach active duty, transitioning, veterans, and military spouses.

Once you select your Resident Intern, notify Vets2PM first to confirm the intern’s name, internship position, location (remote, hybrid, onsite), and start date. Vets2PM will work the intern to apply for their Command (Division) approval. We will provide the intern with an approval email which includes all the documents they require, including our DoD SkillBridge MOU, the official Approval Letter, and their personalized Training Plan which depicts what they will learn and do in the residency. You are free to send a selection message from your company, however, the official approval comes through Vets2PM.

Our SkillBridge Resident Intern Onboard Orientation Checklist will assist you with onboarding your intern. Please click on this document for strategies on successfully onboarding your intern.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit: We require your intern to pre-certify for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). We will provide a copy of your intern’s pre-certification letter upon request. To take advantage of this program you can reach out to our resource partner, Veteran Tax Credits (www.veterantaxcredits.com) to learn more; or refer to the Department of Labor website at  Work Opportunity Tax Credit | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov). While we have your intern pre-certify for this tax credit it is your decision and responsibility as to whether or not you take advantage of this program.

Feel free to keep in touch with your Resident Intern prior to their start date. They love hearing from you. They can be very nervous about this life-changing event and hearing from you will make them feel great.

Onboarding your Resident Intern

What’s happening with your Resident Intern before they start?

Vets2PM is communicating with  your intern; setting them up in our system; providing them access to our career services and resources; and registering them for their certification training programs (if applicable). We are also getting them set up in our instant messaging app so they have access to our team for support and questions.

Your Resident Intern is invited to our regular Resident Intern Zoom meeting with all our current interns. This meeting takes place at Noon Eastern every 1st & 3rd Thursday of the month. If you are interested in joining this meeting please feel free! Here’s how:

    1. Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/459984215
      Password: Vets2PM

Please join our monthly SkillBridge Host Zoom meeting, held the 2nd Thursday of each month at Noon Eastern time, where our staff an other SkillBridge Host companies come together to discuss our programs, ask questions, and collaborate to best serve our Resident Interns.

Here’s how to join:

    1. Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/459984215
      Password: Vets2PM

Your Resident Intern is tying up loose ends with their transition, attending VA and other appointments, possibly relocating, and preparing for their new career opportunity with you!

Welcome your Resident Intern and we wish you all the best for a successful experience.

Access the SkillBridge Weekly Feedback form here. Use this form to communicate internship goals, achievements, and challenges. Adapt this form to your needs, and use it to ensure the best learning environment to assist your intern with OJT and help them become the best job candidate for your company!

The designated contact person at your company will receive an invoice for each internship on the Resident’s start date. We appreciate you!

Please reach out if you have any questions!

It’s your Resident Intern’s start date!

One Month After Start Date

We hope the first month of your intern’s internship has been a great experience. Please remember you can reach out any time.

Today is the due date for your invoice. Again, we appreciate you!

If your Resident Intern is doing a great job and you don’t want to let another company hire them…feel free offer them a Job at any time! They will be thrilled and they won’t have to worry about ‘what comes next’. (Transitioning service members are often very worried about job stability after their transition, and an early job offer will set them at ease and make the experience even better for all of you!) REMEMBER, they are generally eligible for hire on the day their ‘Terminal Leave’ begins or date of separation – which typically (not in all cases) corresponds with the end date of their SkillBridge internship.

We will remind you one month before your intern’s end date to schedule their formal job interview, however, please feel free to schedule it before then if you wish.

It is one month before your Resident Intern’s end date of their internship. If you haven’t already, please schedule their formal job interview.

Reminder: The intern is eligible to start a new job while on ‘Terminal Leave,’ which is their saved ‘PTO/Paid Time Off.’ Some like to take a little break before starting their new job, and others like to start a new job right away.

While you are not required to hire your intern, we hope that they have been successful and you want to hire them!

One Month Before End Date

Two Weeks Before End Date

Vets2PM conducts an ‘out-brief’ with your intern to close out their residency.

Your SkillBridge intern receives a Vets2PM Certificate of Completion

Your SkillBridge intern and you will both receive our exit survey. Please click on the Exit Survey (exit survey will download) and complete this survey and return it to us. We appreciate you taking a few minutes to complete this survey as it helps us continue improve our program.

You should have already scheduled your intern’s formal job interview. (If not, please do so now!)

  1. Vets2PM DoD SkillBridge Program Overview -Tells you about SkillBridge in general, and our program in particular.
  2. Vets2PM DoD SkillBridge Host Partner Framework – Tells you about how our program works. (Updated 10/2022.)
  3. Vets2PM DoD SkillBridge Host MOU – Click, download, read, sign and return to us to show that you want to work with Vets2PM by ‘hiring’ DoD SkillBridge interns. (Updated 10/2022.)
  4. Internship Intake Form – Tells us everything we need to know to source and present Intern candidates for you to consider. (Updated 10/2022.)
  5. SkillBridge Intern Onboard Orientation Checklist – Read this document for onboarding strategies for internship onboarding success.
  6. SkillBridge Weekly Feedback Form – Use this form, and adapt it to your needs, for keeping your intern’s goals in line, and communicating their successes – and assisting in their challenges – so they get the most out of their OJT with your company and become the best job candidate possible!
  7. Host Company Exit Survey – Please complete this form and return it to us at the conclusion of your resident intern’s internship. This helps us with continuous improvement and lessons learned analysis to ensure a better experience for your next intern! Thank you and we appreciate you!
  8. Vets2PM SkillBridge Exchange on Facebook. Please feel free to join and share any content you would like to reach active duty, transitioning, veterans, and military spouses. (Be sure to answer all questions when registering.)

Documents & Forms

FAQ’s

  1. Who is eligible for SkillBridge? Active duty military members in good standing; during the last 180 days of service.
  2. Is the SkillBridge intern always available for six (6) full months? No. Typically they have saved paid time off (called Terminal Leave) that has to be subtracted from the 180 days.
  3. Do we need to pay the intern? NO! The Resident Intern is paid by their service organization (they are technically still on active duty) and they receive all of their pay, benefits, and insurance, etc., during the term of their internship with you.
  4. Can I give my intern a bonus? NO! Interns cannot receive any monetary pay or incentives while on SkillBridge. You can pay for their business travel, etc., but you cannot compensate them in any way.
  5. If we are a government contractor, can we bill our client (the government) for the hours that the intern works? NO! It is not permitted to bill the government for a government employee.
  6. How/When can we offer our intern a job? You can offer the intern a job any time during the internship. They cannot start a paying job until the end of the internship; while they are on Terminal Leave, or have separated.
  7. When do we have to provide the formal job interview? You can interview the intern at any time; we will remind you one month before their end date.
  8. Do we need to notify Vets2PM when we interview our intern? Please do. Since it is a requirement by the DoD SkillBridge office that every intern receive a formal job interview it is a date that we track for each intern.
  9. Do we need to notify Vets2PM if we hire our intern? Please do. Since it is a requirement by the DoD that we keep placement statistics, this will help us stay in compliance.
  10. What happens if our intern is not working out? Please contact us immediately if you are having issues with your intern. We are here to help you and the intern work out any problems, issues, questions, etc. While we haven’t had to do this very often, we are capable of helping you navigate issues that may arise. Should the intern not work out we will replace the intern for you.
  11. Can an intern take time off? Yes, if you approve it. Let’s be real, everyone needs a vacation, right? Especially if your intern is with you for a long period of time. Feel free to give them time off. We appreciate you (or your intern) letting us know if/when they will take any time off so we can track and be aware.
  12. How many hours can an intern work? The DoD requires that the intern not work more than eight (8) hours per day/40 hours per week. Your intern is used to working hard, and working long hours, so if you notice that they are exceeding this requirement, please contact the intern or us to help ensure they don’t burn out!