MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Whether it's $24,000 to become a paralegal or $4,000 to become a medical secretary, the San Diego Workforce partnership bankrolls military spouses and family members who need a career boost.
Julie Christiansen is among those who got a helping hand from the federally funded pilot program that offers career help to military spouses in San Diego County.
Now, she's hands-down among the best who've graduated from the program.
Christiansen, formerly a travel agent in Australia, needed career help when she married a Marine and moved to the United States.
"I just wanted a change. I didn't want to be a travel agent in America," said Christiansen, an Oceanside resident.
So she checked in with the partnership, which paid her way through school at the Universal Schools and Colleges' satellite campus in Carlsbad.
Christiansen not only finished the program — she graduated in the top 1 percent of her class.
School officials were so impressed, they hired her as an administrative assistant.
"It was a time-consuming program," Christian said of the time it took between first consulting the partnership and graduating from the school. "But in the end, it was worth it. (The partnership) definitely took care of us."
The partnership, a three-year pilot program now in its final year, helps eligible family members boost their education and find new jobs.
It's all designed to help spouses transition more easily when moving to a new area, said Louisa Davis, an administrative assistant for the partnership's Career Advancement Center in Oceanside, one of three such centers around the county.
The program helps family members "by educating them and licensing them in California so they don't have to get (low-) paying jobs, which may be frustrating when moving into a new permanent change of station," said Chiyomie Hayashi, an outreach specialist at the Oceanside center.
An outcry from military personnel and their spouses for help with education and job placement spawned the program. It's funded by a $28 million federal grant that funds similar outreaches in Kansas City, Mo., and Norfolk, Va.
About $1 million remains locally to help military family members through June. The program's future is uncertain thereafter, partnership officials said.
In October 2003, administrators relaxed restrictions on who can be served by the program. Since then, the number of people being helped has increased.
Since its inception 2-1/2 years ago, the program has served 891 job seekers. Eighty-six percent of them have found jobs, said DeeDee Tschersch, a partnership spokeswoman.
First, a prospective client must make an appointment with an eligibility specialist and attend orientation. They'll also be given a test.
"After the test is given, we take the results and match up their skills with their interest. It's really about developing what they have and not always what they might come in to inquire about," said Rachel Roedl, a client adviser.
Clients can choose among 457 job fields ranging from computer technicians to nursing services. Clients then are referred to vocational schools or colleges. The field of study may include pursuing an associate's degree.
Selina Daniels is another spouse who benefited from the program — to the tune of $24,000 to attend paralegal school for two years.
Previously, she worked in property management in Palm Springs, then got a job with Base Housing before the position was abolished in 2002 as part of a housing privatization wave here.
Now, she works for the partnership and may become a lawyer.
"If it wasn't for this support system, then I would have moved back home," said Daniels, who works for the program as an eligibility specialist.
Overviews of the program will be offered today at 9 a.m. at the San Onofre Community Center and Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. at the Oceanside Career Advancement Center, 1949 Avenida Del Oro, Ste. 118.
For more information, call 414-3500.