IST's GEMS Program

Hal Blackman • March 20, 2019
 It took a few months to get it off the ground, but thanks to the extraordinary efforts by Hannah Wells and Sydney Ayers, we are now officially part of the Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) program through the Department of Defense (DOD)! This program is just one of many DOD initiatives in strengthening the education and career opportunities of military spouses. There are actually more than 390 partners who have hired over 130,000 military spouses. The Department of Defense is the largest employer in the United States with more than 1.4 million active-duty personnel. Approximately 56% of these service members are married, which equates to over 784,000 potential candidates for IST. This is clearly a huge talent pool.

The challenge for military spouses is that even though they are well-educated and qualified for a variety of jobs, their unemployment rate is 26%. Approximately 77% of these spouses are active job seekers, but due to frequent relocations, some companies are reluctant to hire them. With IST, this is a non-issue because we can hire them, and if they relocate, there is an excellent chance they can continue working for us in another city since we have operations all across the country.

We call our new program “GEMS” which stands for Gainful Employment for Military Spouses. Have we hired any military spouses yet? According to Sydney, the answer is a resounding yes. Sydney said, “We are lucky enough to have a select group of military spouses already employed by IST. We have yet to hire any new spouses since it’s a new program, but with the guidance, resources, and insights of our already existing military spouse community within IST, valuable new military spouse hires are sure to follow!” This is great news for both IST and military spouses.

The GEMS program is specifically designed to hire military spouses because they are typically motivated, team-oriented and have a strong work ethic. With our operations in 40+ cities nationally and nearly 2,000 positions, we think this is a win-win program. As a father of two sons who served in the Navy, I consider this the greatest honor of my life. I saw my sons grow in their careers and witnessed the impact military life had on their relationships and families. It wasn’t always easy, but I have always considered it my duty to do everything I can to help on the home front. IST’s GEMS program is an extension of that duty. I want to help military spouses by giving them flexible, portable, secure careers no matter where military life takes them.

How will we actually roll the program out? According to Hannah, “We have been provided with numerous resources to attract military spouse talent and are actively working now to recruit from this specific market. In October, Sydney Ayers, Lori Mitchum and Tim Richardson will attend the MSEP New Partner Induction Ceremony in Washington, DC. At this week-end long event, they will speak with other MSEP partner companies regarding best practices and ideas for attracting and retaining military spouse talent. Our biggest goal is to introduce IST as a trusted employer to the military spouse community. More than just hires, we want to foster careers for our military employees in tandem with their unique and often challenging military lifestyles.”

I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about the GEMS program. It’s just one of many initiatives we have at IST to attract the best talent out there. Our goal is to hire and retain employees with a servant’s heart attitude. A willingness to serve is a major factor in delivering top-shelf service to our clients. I love serving and enjoy creating, building and empowering people. Let’s continue to wow our clients and thrive in our careers. Thank you for all that you do.

Hanging with Hal

Supporting Sacrifice and Giving Back

By Hal Blackman • November 21, 2019
Chester Nimitz, fleet admiral of the United States Navy, played a major role during World War II and the battle for the Pacific on land, sea, and air. He once said, “Some of the best advice I’ve had comes from junior officers and enlisted men.” This month we observe Veterans Day and pay tribute to all American veterans, living or dead, but especially those living veterans who served during war or peacetime. I am proud of both of my sons who graduated from the Naval Academy and served with honor. I am proud of all of our men and women who served, and especially those who are now employees of IST . Thank you for your service! As part of our way of giving back, IST is involved with several programs to help both veterans and military spouses on the career front. Through the efforts of Hannah Wells and Sydney Ayers we developed the GEMS program which stands for “Gainful Employment for Military Spouses.” This program is designed to hire military spouses. With our operations in 40+ cities nationally and nearly 2,000 positions, this program is a perfect match since military spouses are often transferred to different parts of the country. Since IST is completely standardized in our field operations, employees can transfer to different sites without skipping a beat. The IST’s GEMS program offers military spouses flexible, portable, and secure careers no matter where military life takes them. We have hired seven military spouses throughout the country since we started the GEMS program.
IST Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Team

The Cystic Fibrosis Kick Off

By Hal Blackman • April 3, 2019
Great Strides is the main vehicle for raising donations for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Over 125,000 people participate in walks across the country including IST. We currently have over 130 registered walkers. Our goal is to get 200 walkers and have each walker raise $200 in donations. So far, we are off to a good start.