HomeNewsArticle Display

Program helps spouses earn portable career

  • Published
  • Airman and Family Readiness Center
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Military One Source has launched the Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts program. This program is designed to assist in equipping military spouses with the skills necessary for portable careers. MyCAA provides individuals with up to $6,000 of funding for job readiness (career and education counseling, job search resources, relocation information packages) and training (education, licenses, certificates, and degrees).

The program also provides employment and job placement assistance (e-mail alerts announcing expanded employment assistance and job placement services). Non-active duty spouses of active duty Department of Defense members, activated members of the Guard and Reserve, those severely injured, ill, wounded or killed in action, and prisoners of war or missing in action (as long as they are still considered active duty) are eligible for this program.

By following seven simple steps, eligible spouses can choose from 13 schools in the Oklahoma City area, 30 training facilities in the state or hundreds of programs nationwide to take advantage of this opportunity.

The most demanding of these steps is to write a brief career and training plan that outlines the spouse's goals and how receiving the funding might help them achieve portable employment. Once a user account is established, MyCAA directly pays the school. This makes the process very user friendly. Processing, which includes program approval of the successfully completed seven steps, currently takes about one week.

Sound too good to be true? There are a few requirements MyCAA has for program hopefuls. First, all seven steps must be completed prior to the class start date. Second, spouses must be enrolled in at least one course within 90 days of opening an account. Third, spouses must pass all classes with a letter grade of "C" or above. If this is not achieved, the spouse must seek academic counseling through the MyCAA program. It should also be noted that the program does not typically pay for fees and books unless the school lumps those expenses in with the cost of tuition on the billing statement.

For more information, visit https://aiportal. acc.af.mil/mycaa or call 1-800-342-9647. You may also contact Andrea Perkins at the Airman and Family Readiness Center at andrea.perkins@tinker.af.mil or 739-2747.