The Family Member Employment Assistance Program at the Air Station is collaborating with Military Spouse Corporate Career Network in order to bring new work-at-home opportunities for military spouses in the Beaufort area.

“MSCCN started as a for-profit organization four years ago and has been a non-profit for two years,” said Kate Midden, MSCCN outreach specialist. “We have many military spouses from all branches working with us except from the Marine Corps. I want to see more Marine Corps spouses working with us.”

Veronica Perez is the MCAS FMEAP counselor who has been working closely with Midden to bring these opportunities to military spouses and family members with sponsors stationed at MCAS Beaufort, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Naval Hospital Beaufort. MSCCN will be coming to the 7th Annual Career and Education Fair scheduled to be held on April 28 at Parris Island. They also have an upcoming seminar, which will be held at the Air Station, June 18.

“I feel blessed to do what I do,” Midden said. “I had a military spouse from Texas call me last week. She lost her husband while he was serving. She told me she was not ready to face the world yet, but this opportunity would help her start over.”

The first company to partner with MSCCN was Convergys. They will be hiring approximately 50 new employees from all over the United States per week, throughout 2009. The starting pay is $9 per hour and candidates are eligible for benefits once they are hired. Convergys is the largest call center in the US and is a Fortune 100 company that started these work-at-home opportunities 8 months ago. They have locations all over the US and have been contracted by many different companies. Military spouses should apply through the jobseekers page of the MSCCN Web site at www.msccn.org and follow the link to the Convergys site.

If a military spouse is not sure if a work-at-home position is for them, Cloud 10 is a different option. This company is currently hiring for a two-month temporary assignment. They want to hire hundreds of workers from all over the US this month and hope to hire candidates as full-time employees after this assignment is completed. Cloud 10 was recently contracted to provide customer services to clients asking questions about the recent switch to digital TV and the converter boxes. Spouses hired by this company may continue a career in the digital TV arena. To apply with Cloud 10, potential applicants will need to go to their Web site at www.cloud10corp.com/careercenter/ahp.html.

Military Spouse Corporate Career Network’s newest partner is Alpine Access. They are interested in hiring military spouses and home-based customer service representatives. They currently have 144 jobs available but will continue hiring spouses on a regular basis throughout 2009. One of the companies that has contracted Alpine Access is 1-800-FLOWERS. Paid on-line training is available and candidates are also eligible for benefits. To apply for a position, go directly to the Alpine Access Web site at www.alpineaccess.com, click on the “careers” link and then “apply to become an agent.”

For all of the previously mentioned positions, candidates need to list MSCCN as their source of referral in order for recruiters to know they are military affiliated.

“This is a great opportunity for the military spouses,” Perez said. “ Through the program, they receive customer service training and can further their career and still work from home.”