Charles Town, WV—May 3, 2022 – Navigating a job search while still on active duty can be challenging and stressful. For many service members who aren’t fully prepared for the transition, it can even be daunting.
To help its military-affiliated students overcome these challenges, American Military University (AMU) is partnering with 50strong. As AMU is the #1 provider of higher education to the U.S. military and veterans,* the relationship with 50strong is a hand-in-glove fit.
50strong collaborates with military-ready employers and higher ed partners such as AMU to identify opportunities that support at-scale resources and exposure to private-sector employers. 50strong offers virtual engagement opportunities that feature military recruiters with strong opportunities combined with veteran-specific insight on navigating a post active-duty career search. Since becoming a 50strong Educational Partner in April 2021, AMU has engaged with several thousand students and alumni in connection with 50strong’s services.
“I’m beyond appreciative of AMU’s efforts toward career outcomes for those they educate every day, as higher education is a pathway to strong employment,” said 50strong Co-founder Kandi Tillman. “Because I see so many amazing companies with strong initiatives that military-affiliated students simply aren’t even aware of, we want to help make those connections easier. We believe that career services teams at military-ready academic institutions like AMU are critical to that.”
“Helping to connect our students with potential future career opportunities is a key priority for Career Services,” said Christine Muncy, Associate Vice President of Career Services at American Public University System, of which AMU is a part. “By combining the service 50strong provides with AMU’s personalized resume writing support, resources and coaching, we give our students a great way to connect with employers that are focused on veteran recruiting initiatives.”
50strong runs EmployerConnect for all military, veterans, and spouses with a heavy focus on military-affiliated students. It also runs 50strong SkillBridgeConnect, which specifically supports industry enablement of DoD SkillBridge, a Department of Defense (DoD) program which connects transitioning service members to non-military organizations that offer training or internships with a possibility of follow-on employment. Given AMU’s large population of active-duty students, SkillBridgeConnect has been a particularly important collaboration.
“Amazon is serious about hiring military talent. With our scale and pace of expanding opportunity, we are always looking to engage with new pipelines of talent. Collaborating with organizations like 50strong and American Military University are essential to our ability to engage with students,” said Beau Higgins of Amazon Global Military Affairs, a 50strong founding sponsor.
“Military service members and veterans already represent a clear talent advantage for business. Add college education onto their military experience and they’re arguably one of the top competitive talent pools from which we can recruit. It’s imperative to business that we are finding new and relevant ways to engage. 50strong and their partners like American Military University represent an alliance of knowledge that create game-changing opportunities for both veterans and employers alike,” said Matt Disher, who leads Military Initiatives for Cushman & Wakefield, another 50strong employer collaborator.
About 50strong
Phoenix, Arizona-based 50strong was founded in 2020 by Kandi Tillman and her husband, U.S. Army veteran Kevin Tillman. Partnering with higher education institutions and military-ready employers, 50strong offers opportunities to help military members navigate the complexities of transitioning to non-military employment via direct networking and exposure. 50strong is an industry-sponsored effort made possible by support from Amazon, Wells Fargo, John Deere, UnitedHealth Group, Cushman & Wakefield, TEKsystems, and has many other participating employer partners across industries.
About American Public University System
American Public University System (APUS) delivers accessible and affordable online higher education to adult learners of all backgrounds. APUS, a five-time recipient of Online Learning Consortium’s (OLC) Effective Practice Award, offers more than 200 online degree and certificate programs through American Public University as well as American Military University, the #1 provider of higher education to the U.S. military and veterans.* With over 114,000 alumni worldwide, APUS is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. APUS is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Public Education, Inc. (Nasdaq: APEI). For more information, visit www.apus.edu.
*Based on FY 2019 Department of Defense tuition assistance and Veterans Administration student enrollment data, as reported by Military Times, 2020.
