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Home My WebLink About2023-04-13; Department of Defense SkillBridge Program (Districts - All); Rocha, Lauraio the members of the: CITY COUNCIL Date'--tli~l ~CA _!_ cc _:::_ CM .:::_ ACM "~ DCM (3) JL. April 13, 2023 Council Memorandum To: Honorable Mayor Blackburn an ers of the City Council From: Laura Rocha, Deputy City Mana ·nistrative Services Via: Geoff Patnoe, Assistant City Ma ag Re: Department of Defense SkillBri fe,4) ogram (Districts -All) {city of Carlsbad Memo ID #2023030 This memorandum provides.an update on information related to the City of Carlsbad's partnership with the Department of Defense to establish the Skill Bridge Program approved by City Council in September 2021. Background The Skill Bridge Program provides an opportunity for military service members to gain valuable civilian work experience through specific industry training, apprenticeships or fellowships during the last 180 days of their active-duty service. Skill Bridge connects service members with industry partners like the City of Carlsbad who can offer real -world job experiences at no cost to the hosting organization. Service members participating in SkillBridge continue to receive their military compensation and benefits, while the industry partners provide the training and work experience. This program has no impact on the city's budget. Discussion The City of Carlsbad hosted two U.S. Navy service members in 2022 who were separating from active duty to re-enter the civilian work force. Both were an excellent match because of the skills they acquired from their experience in the Navy, and were able to immediately contribute to the city. The Human Resources Department hosted the city's first SkillBridge fellow, who managed a team of 71 civilian and military personnel overseeing human resources related to day-to-day naval operations. This experienced human resources professional made an immediate impact at the city when she started the program in March 2022, assuming responsibility for managing the COVID-19 related activities to serve as the city's primary point of contact. This included: • Administering procedures for the COVID-19 prevention plan • Enforcing safety protocols • Responding to and providing guidance for exposures • Conducting investigations • Contact tracing Administrative Services Branch Human Resources Department 1635 Faraday Avenue I Carlsbad, CA 92008 I 442-339-2440 t Council Memo -Department of Defense Skill Bridge Program (Districts -All) April 13, 2023 Page 2 • Maintaining data reports • Ensuring compliance with CalOSHA, federal, state and local public health agencies This Skill Bridge fellow0 eventually took on additional responsibilities in a workplace safety compliance training role, teaching classes to the Police, Fire, and Public Works departments on 22 safety training topics. In total, our first participant saved the city around 1,000 hours of work and approximately $65,000 in personnel cost in 2022. We also had an additional annual savings of approximately $40,000 that the city would have otherwise had to pay to a consultant for training costs. 1. The Innovation & Economic Development Department recently hosted a second SkillBridge fellow, a U.S. Navy Commander for Region Southwest. This officer helped the department with process improvement, program development and innovation projects. The department also used this opportunity as a pilot td create a SkillBridge Innovation Fellow program that would provide flex capacity for the department and a pipeline of talent into Carlsbad companies. The Skill Bridge fellow supported multiple projects and applied innovation principles and data analytics tools to find efficiencies and savings in the city's use of mobile devices. 2. In fiscal year 2022, the Information Technology Department took over the management of monthly invoicing for city mobile devices and consolidated the related information. In collaboration with the Chief Innovation Officer and Information Technology, the SkillBridge fellow learned how to apply innovation principles and data analytics tools to find efficiencies and savings in the city's use of mobile devices such as cell phones and tablets. As a result of this work, Innovation & Economic Development made recommendations that could save the city $75,000 to $125,000 annually. The SkillBridge fellow received valuable training and project experience, while the city realized immediate and ongoing budget savings. The city also received the benefit of full-time work from a seasoned professional akin to a program manager at approximately $35,000-$40,000 and was able to complete a project six to nine months ahead of schedule. At the end of the program, the city was able to offer employment to our first Skill Bridge fellow. The second had the opportunity to gain valuable work experience from the city. He received an employment offer outside of the city and began his new position immediately after completing the SkillBridge program. Next Steps Human Resources in collaboration with Innovation & Economic Development have developed additional Skill Bridge program enhancements based on the city's experience with its first two Skill Bridge fellows. This includes a portal for interested candidates to apply and provide information that will help show where they might best fit in the city's various departments. Future plans include partnering with Carlsbad businesses that participate in the Life in Action Council Memo -Department of Defense Skill Bridge Program (Districts -All) April 13, 2023 Page 3 Recruiter program to help find jobs for the people who have completed their Skill Bridge term with the city and are looking for private sector employment. One of the Department of Defense's goals for this program is for the Skill Bridge participant to gain employment in the organization that hosts them. The city will continue to provide this opportunity, when possible. The city will also continue its efforts to connect its SkillBridge fellows with contacts and employers to help them transitioning members ofthe military out of service and into gainful employment. The Skill Bridge Program has proven to be a valuable source of skilled ta.lent that can provide a short-term boost of capacity for special projects and a pipeline of qualified candidates for open jobs at the city and with community business partners. cc: Scott Chadwick, City Manager Cindie McMahon, City Attorney Paz Gomez, Deputy City Manager, Public Works Gary Barberio, Deputy City Manager, Community Services Michael Calderwood, Fire Chief Mickey Williams, Chief of Police David Graham, Chief Innovation Officer Judy von Kalinowski, Human Resources Director