Veterans & Transitioning Military

Military Friendly Florida

Military veterans make up a substantial portion of Okaloosa’s working age population.  In fact, some 33,000 veterans call Okaloosa home, equating to 16% of the county’s overall population.  Veterans consistently cite the community’s educational and employment opportunities (many of which closely align with the skills and experience they attained in the military) as factors in their decision to permanently locate here following their time of service.  Of course, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that our area’s “patriotic spirit” and desirable coastal lifestyle also rank highly!

CareerSource Okaloosa Walton Veteran Services

Because of the large military presence in the local community, CareerSource Okaloosa Walton (CSOW) is fully prepared to assist veterans with their employment and training needs with specifically designated staff. The CSOW Veteran Team is an active participant with the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) workshops at each of the installations.  CSOW Veteran staff stay in tune to employer needs by actively participating in all aspects of business services to include job fair planning, set-up and implementation; serving on the Rapid Response teams; participating in employer marketing efforts and business development activities; developing jobs for Veterans through established relationships with employers; facilitating mass recruitments and employer recruiting agreements and working closely with the Military Family Employment Liaison in coordinating employment activities that target Veterans, Transitioning Service Members (TSM) and their families.  CSOW conducts outreach services to Transitioning Service Members (TSM) at Eglin 2 days a week and at Hurlburt Field JobsPlus is facilitating the weekly Workforce Services component of the 3-hour Pre-Separation Briefing. Veteran staff provides assistance to the exiting military by helping convert military occupational codes to related civilian standard occupational classification codes compatible in the civilian community. This CareerSource Okaloosa Walton service allows the transitioning service members to operationalize their skills, duties and accomplishments from military service, as well as translate them to a civilian resume.

Learn more about CSOW Veterans Services

DoD SkillBridge Program - Internship

This program is being coordinated through CareerSource Okaloosa Walton.  The DoD SkillBridge - Internship allows Active Duty Service Members who are within 180 days of separation to accept internships with a company in their desired industry and/or career field.

There is no fee for your company to participate and the program is FLSA Compliant and Workers' Comp is provided!

Program Eligibility:

  • Service Member must be within 180 days of approved retirement or separation.
  • Participation depends on unit and mission requirements.​ ​Click here for more information about the CSP Internship Process
Learn more about this opportunity here

Veterans Florida

Veterans Florida, a state-created organization, helps you make Florida home by providing information on state benefits and connections to careers, entrepreneurship training, colleges and universities, and real estate professionals who can help you buy the home of your dreams.

Over 25% of veterans want to start their own business—maybe you're one of them? There is a Veterans Florida Entrepreneurship Program to provide all the knowledge needed to successfully launch and operate an enterprise. Veterans Florida has partnered with the Office of Supplier Diversity so you can not only do business in Florida, but with Florida.

Learn more about Veterans Florida

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