AUGUST 9, 2024 – Twenty-five noncommissioned officers joined U.S. Army leaders and industry representatives at Fort Knox on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, for a historic signing that marked the next phase of the Army’s commitment to modernizing recruiting.
This first cohort of future 42T Talent Acquisition Specialists will embark on a four-month Training with Industry rotation and will learn specialized recruiting techniques to incorporate into the curriculum for this new specialty.
“This program is about innovation,” said Col. Chesley Thigpen, Adjutant General Corps chief and Adjutant General School commandant. “This program is about the transformation of how we train our Soldiers in the Army, and we couldn’t do that without our industry partners that are here today.”
After the Soldiers finish their corporate rotations, they will have more training to complete before officially becoming a 42T. The majority of the newly minted Talent Acquisition Specialists will then use what they have learned to train future 42T Soldiers, and the rest will take their knowledge to the field at recruiting stations throughout the country.
“The lessons learned with Training with Industry will help shape and modernize the curriculum that will be taught to future 42T students at the Soldier Support Institute,” said Sgt. Maj. Alan Myers, Headquarters, Department of the Army G-1 Directorate of Military Personnel Management, Acquire and Retain Division sergeant major.
The U.S. Army’s TWI program offers Soldiers the opportunity to work with civilian industry experts within their field to learn the company’s best practices and methodologies.
The Army opened their partnership initiative with Amazon, Deloitte, Wells Fargo, Boot Camp Digital and the University of Louisville to provide a wide range of experiences for this cohort. These partnerships serve an important role in not only building relationships with external organizations, but ensuring that the Army, and its recruiting force, remain in line with the current climate of the work force.
“At Deloitte, we don’t have it all figured out, but there are some things that we are doing right, and we’re looking forward to offering those,” said Tony Wrice, industry partner from Deloitte. “There are some things that the Army is probably doing great that Deloitte can use to be better as well.”
Each of these five organizations have opened their doors to share their knowledge, expertise and industry standards for both them and the Army.
According to Wrice, this program creates an opportunity for collaborative growth by fully immersing each Soldier into the company. Soldiers will absorb new information for the benefit of the creation of the 42T curriculum and be able to contribute to the filling of gaps that their sponsoring company might have in recruiting.
“This is our way of serving the U.S., too,” said Dr. Jeffrey Sun, University of Louisville. “We are really thrilled to be able to take part in this new project with the U.S. Army.”
By Hunter West