Pierce County’s biggest employer does not advertise on Indeed. It wears a uniform. Joint Base Lewis-McChord contributes more than $12.1 billion to the regional economy, according to a University of Washington Tacoma Milgard School of Business Center for Business Analytics study, and it is the largest single employer in the county by a wide margin. But the number that should matter most to local business owners is not the base’s payroll. It is the steady stream of people walking out the front gate for the last time, resumes in hand, looking for what comes next.
Most Tacoma employers know about the Transition Assistance Program, the classroom side of military separation. Far fewer know that JBLM also runs the best hands-on, hire-them-before-they-separate pipeline in the entire Department of Defense, and that a local company can plug into it without spending a dollar on payroll. That program is the Career Skills Program, better known by its DoD-wide brand name: SkillBridge.
The pipeline behind the paycheck
JBLM is not just a fighting force; it is a workforce-development machine that happens to sit in Pierce County. The base supports tens of thousands of active-duty service members, civilian employees, and family members, and a large share of those service members separate or retire within driving distance of the gate. They leave with security clearances, logistics experience, technical certifications, leadership reps that most 25-year-olds never get, and a habit of showing up on time.
The challenge has never been talent. It has been translation. A motor-transport sergeant does not have a civilian resume that a Tacoma hiring manager instantly understands, and a transitioning soldier rarely has the local network to land an interview. SkillBridge exists to close exactly that gap, and JBLM runs it better than anyone.
What the Career Skills Program actually is
SkillBridge is a Department of Defense authorization that lets eligible service members spend their final months in uniform working a real civilian job, training, or apprenticeship instead of a desk on base. At JBLM, the Career Skills Program (CSP) administers it, and the results have earned national recognition. The JBLM CSP was named the best in the Department of Defense at a symposium in Fort Knox, Kentucky, the third consecutive time the program has taken the biennial award.
That is not a participation trophy. The JBLM program offers 17 different pathways for separating service members, ranging from skilled trades to professional internships. The same Army article describes a CSP participant who interned as a neurosurgeon at Harborview, and a noncommissioned officer who walked out as a welder fabricator at a custom-motorcycle shop. JBLM also built P3O-S, a Public Private Partnership Office program the Army described as a first of its kind, to formalize how civilian employers connect with transitioning talent.
Here is a counterintuitive data point for employers worried that they are only getting people on their way out: William Noland, the JBLM CSP installation coordinator, told the Army that “around 34% actually stay on and re-enlist on active duty or join the Reserve or National Guard.” In other words, the program is not just an exit ramp. It is a decision tool, and a serious chunk of participants discover they want to keep serving. The ones who do separate have already proven they can plan their own future.
WorkEx: the zero-cost mechanics for employers
The piece that makes this directly usable for a Tacoma or Lakewood business is WorkEx, an approved CSP/SkillBridge program based at JBLM that serves service members from installations nationwide. WorkEx acts as the approving authority that builds and clears the internship, which removes most of the paperwork burden that scares small employers away from military hiring programs.
The structure is simple. An eligible transitioning service member or military spouse does a 4-to-17-week internship (up to 120 days with chain-of-command approval) with a host employer to gain practical civilian experience before separation. The employer submits a training plan and a host-employer agreement, and WorkEx handles the approval.
Who pays, who carries the liability
This is the part that surprises business owners. During the internship, the military continues to pay the service member. According to WorkEx, the host employer incurs “no risk, liability, or payroll cost.” You get a vetted, experienced worker embedded in your operation for up to four months, and the Department of Defense covers the salary. For a growing Pierce County company that wants to try before it hires, that is close to a free extended working interview.
The one obligation employers do have
SkillBridge is not a free-labor scheme, and WorkEx is explicit that companies are under no obligation to hire the intern when the internship ends. The single requirement is good faith: at a minimum, the host employer must offer the candidate an informational interview at the completion of the internship. That is a low bar, and most employers who take a SkillBridge intern seriously end up wanting to make an offer anyway, because they have already watched the person do the job.
One timing note worth passing along to any service member you meet: WorkEx advises members to make contact within 6 to 9 months of their last day in service, and no later than 3 months out. Employers who want a steady flow of candidates should build the relationship with WorkEx and the CSP office before they have an opening, not after.
How it fits alongside TAP and WorkSource
SkillBridge does not replace the other channels; it sits on top of them. The classroom-based Transition Assistance Program runs out of the Hawk Career Center at 11577 41st Division Drive on Lewis North (253-967-3258) and handles career counseling, resume workshops, interview prep, and job fairs. Service members are encouraged to enroll early, up to two years before retirement and twelve months out for other separations. TAP is where employers can get in front of large groups; SkillBridge is where they get one person, hands-on, for months.
Off base, the state fills in the rest. Washington’s Employment Security Department runs WorkSource veteran services, which give veterans and eligible spouses priority access to job listings and referrals, plus Veteran Employment Specialists for those facing barriers to employment. WorkSource Pierce County is the natural partner for filling roles with veterans who have already separated rather than those still in uniform.
The macro backdrop is favorable for employers who move early. The U.S. Department of Labor reported a veteran unemployment rate of 3.7% in April 2026, which means the strongest candidates do not sit on the market long. The advantage of SkillBridge is that it lets a Pierce County employer reach those candidates while they are still on the base payroll, before they ever hit the open job market.
How a Pierce County employer plugs in
If you run a business in Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup, or anywhere in the county and you want to test this channel, the path is short. Contact the JBLM CSP office or WorkEx and ask to become a host employer. Be ready to describe the role and draft a training plan, which WorkEx helps build. Pick one position where a four-month working interview would genuinely help you, treat the intern like a future full-time hire, and honor the informational-interview commitment at the end.
The companies that win at this do not treat it as charity. They treat it as recruiting. JBLM has built and rebuilt the best version of this program in the military, three awards running, and it is sitting in your backyard. The talent is already here, already trained, and for up to four months, already paid by someone else.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between TAP and SkillBridge at JBLM?
TAP, the Transition Assistance Program, is the classroom-based curriculum that prepares service members for civilian life with counseling, resume help, and job fairs. SkillBridge, run at JBLM through the Career Skills Program, places a service member in an actual civilian job, internship, or apprenticeship for up to 120 days before separation. TAP prepares; SkillBridge places.
Who pays the service member during a SkillBridge internship?
The military continues to pay the service member throughout the internship. According to WorkEx, the host employer incurs no payroll cost, risk, or liability during the placement.
Is a Pierce County employer required to hire the intern afterward?
No. Employers are under no obligation to hire a SkillBridge intern at the end of the program. The only requirement is that the host employer offer the candidate, at a minimum, an informational interview when the internship concludes.
How long is a WorkEx SkillBridge internship?
WorkEx internships run from 4 to 17 weeks, up to 120 days, with chain-of-command approval. Service members are advised to begin the process within 6 to 9 months of their separation date, and no later than 3 months out.
How big is JBLM’s impact on the Pierce County workforce?
A University of Washington Tacoma Milgard School of Business study found that JBLM contributes more than $12.1 billion to the regional economy, and the base is Pierce County’s largest single employer. That scale is why its transition programs, including the DoD-best Career Skills Program, represent one of the county’s most significant and underused local talent pipelines.
