Editor’s Note: This blog post was updated on May 6, 2022.
While women have made important strides in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers, research has shown that these fields remain predominantly male.
This is rapidly changing at VA, where diversity and inclusion aren’t merely a box to be checked but essential to our organization. Along with meeting the needs of women Veterans by providing them access to high-quality women health services, we also seek out opportunities to hire these heroes as they transition into civilian life following their military service.
In an effort to reach more of the 2 million female Veterans, the Office of Environmental Programs Service (EPS)/Healthcare Environmental Facilities Program (HEFP) is encouraging female Veterans to apply for the Environmental Management Service (EMS) Technical Career Field (TCF) Trainee program. This 24-month opportunity cultivates management trainees and guarantees non-competitive placement upon successful completion. Applications will be accepted until May 16, 2022.
We’re looking for female leaders to help our facilities provide a clean healing environment that’s safe for Veterans and their families in various locations throughout the nation.
Explore VA environmental management leadership opportunities
Within VA, EMS oversees the following program functions:
- Health care sanitation
- Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
- Textile Care Management (TCM)
- Waste management and recycling
- Interior Design (ID)
- Environment of Care (EOC) monitoring
An EMS leader uses knowledge and experience to ensure adherence to statutory, regulatory and VA requirements. In pursuit of becoming an EMS leader, the TCF trainee will gain expertise to serve as a regulatory and technical subject matter expert and assist VHA in solving complex environmental and compliance issues.
Great careers, great benefits
You’ll join a tight-knit team of highly qualified and driven management professionals working to improve the overall Veteran experience by providing a safe, clean and healing environment for their care. When you join VA, you’ll have access to plenty of perks, including regular salary step increases, job security and work/life balance. In addition to these benefits, you’ll receive:
- Generous time off: Earn up to 26 vacation days each year, accrue unlimited paid sick leave and enjoy 10 paid federal holidays.
- Robust federal retirement plan: Enjoy a defined benefit plan (pension) after only five years of vesting and a 401(k)-type plan with up to 5% in employer contributions.
- Education Support: We can help you repay student debt, reimburse you for tuition and help you earn free continuing medical education (CME) credits.
You’ll also be part of a deeply rewarding mission — improving the quality of life for the brave men and women who risk so much to protect our freedom.
Work at VA
Help Veterans, their family members and your fellow employees stay safe at our facilities. Submit your application for a new environmental management services career today.
- APPLY for a EMS TCF trainee position.
- EXPLORE technical career fields at VA.
- LEARN more about VA benefits.
- VISIT our website at www.VAcareers.va.gov.
NOTE: Positions listed in this post were open at the time of publication. All current available positions are listed at USAJobs.gov.
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Whether it’s access to the great outdoors or a calmer pace in your everyday life, you can find it in rural VA communities around the country.
If you’re looking for an opportunity to provide care to Veterans outside a traditional clinical setting, Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) is a great option.
A key part of your job search is finding the right fit for you and your skills, and workplace culture can impact that dramatically.
So…you start out saying STEM needs more women. And you end with a link to Housekeeping at the VA. And say this is a 24 month “training position.” Since that position is “training” and temporary, do benefits come with it or only after the 24 months of training IF you are placed in a permanent position? I had to make sure this wasn’t an Onion article. Completely infuriating. As a woman veteran all I can say is I’m disgusted and appalled at the covert attempt to say you want those of us with technical backgrounds, yet it’s for housekeeping “management” starting at 50K. I’ve applied for multiple technical positions that I am very qualified for and some that I’m over-qualified for just to get a rejection months later that I was not qualified for and position was filled internally. This is disgusting. If the VA truly cared about women veterans, you’d give us all a real chance – or is getting more women working in the VA a challenge to the toxic masculinity that plagues the VA?!
It really is too bad that we cannot simply hire on MERIT. Simply review resumes, CV’s, and the same but remove all vital statistics from them. Have a third party accomplish the interviewing process and document the answers, annotating things such as confidence, tone and so on… but yet again…. how dare we allow people to earn their place in a company! A perfect example is the show Tournament of Champions…. the popular and well known chefs do not always win because it is a blind judging…. the judges are not swayed by reputation—-
This way to hire would be similar. There would be no positive affirmation, no extra points for serving in the military, and so on. Purely merit based. I am confident the process could be made much better than I explained but let’s stop handing ppl jobs and let ppl earn them.
Its typical VA BS. Get you in the door and keep you at the bottom. There was a coworker there that had 2 masters degrees and applied for a higher position. They gave it to the idiot that was being groomed for 5 years and only an associate degree.
I love these comments. I too am a female veteran who’s us highly educated and zi have a highly educated daughter. I cannot find a job in my found if science because if the Disabled Veteran label and my daughter just quit her corporate job. Why? For seven years she was treated like crap. She was told she was eye candy, she was sabotaged by the jealous ones who could not advance bc they didn’t have the credentials – college degree, bullied. She was a project manager for a company who provides wall covering for hospitals around the country. Now with her nutrition cert and her Yoga cert, with me with my holistic energy healing, Shamanic journeying, etc we are working on opening a holistic healing center. Screw the MAN!
I thought I was the only one who thought like this! I’m Amerasian. 1/2 Japanese and the other half white – German Irish and Native American. And yes the culture of the old boys school still exists.
Did no one notice that the article starts off with needing women in STEM career fields but this leadership trainee program is for EMS, not construction or facilities within the VA. These jobs are super important but the first paragraph is misleading.
EMS oversees:
Health care sanitation
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Textile Care Management (TCM)
Waste management and recycling
Interior Design (ID)
Environment of Care (EOC) monitoring
Oh yeah they want to put us back in our place housekeeping
Y’all are missing Virginia’s point.
Merit based should be exactly that, merit based. Nothing else should be considered. She may not be accurate on why her daughter was denied~but maybe she is correct. If y’all think IVY league institutions don’t push talented individuals to the bottom of the pile while rising others not as talented, you’re living in a fantasy world. They have even admitted to doing such, especially with Asian applicants. Applicants are scoured on social media. Cant use the excuse the application does not reveal race, sexual preference etc. they know who you are and what you believe. If you don’t fit the narrative, no admittance.
Thank you for your service Virginia! Best to your daughter.
If the world was fair then we wouldn’t need quota’s. “Quota’s became about because of unfair treatment of minorities and women (white women first) in the workforce, schools etc. From what I’m reading, I believe this program is geared toward women in field that are dominated by men. As a man I love seeing women elevate when I was in the military and as a civilian. My wife works in a male dominated field for a construction company. She has a bachelors and Masters degree in business and HR. Has been doing the job for over 16 years but was constantly being overlooked for promotions for men that were clearly unqualified then her. Hard work and merit does not always help all individuals. I just do my part and help others as I can.
What is Textile Care Management? What do TCM type jobs involve?
Laundry.
I am in my ‘70’s and this program beyond my need at this time. However, please let me make an observation based on workforce policy, my daughter’s college application-she a National Merit Scholar semi-finalist and denied acceptance to Yale University based on the fact she is white, female, and a US citizen (she did graduate summa cum laude from the University I’d RI while holding a full-time job-all in four years).
My point is, don’t disqualify someone not a female or minority just because of a quota, not a merit-based one.
Thank you, most Sincerely,
Virginia E. Sanders
Viet Nam Veteran as a USN Hospital Corpsman.
Sorry, that is not the VA way – trans, black, lgbtq, female, first, then they will see what is left
Eh em! Please don’t forget the Latinas! Clearly we take all the Jobs away from the straight-white-males. seriously what planet are you from?!
Honestly, with all due respect to your highly accomplished daughter, it’s ridiculous and self-defeating to believe that her non-admittance to a top-ranked Ivy League university is because she is white. There are literally hundreds of highly qualified applicants for every opening in the Ivy League. No doubt, your wonderful daughter gained admission to an excellent college. Please celebrate her achievements and please understand: everything in life is a numbers game.
As a Veteran and mother of an highly educated daughter, I understand your frustrations. Nevertheless, you also have to understand, regardless of a person education, oftentimes, employers have a culture and regardless of all those excellent pursuits, if you don’t fit the culture of an organization, they’ll go with who does. Not all highly educated college grads function is appropriate for a particular position.
If the culture speaks a specific language and you don’t speak that language, then no matter the education, your not hired. And, not all highly educated people have common sense, because their book smart, not real life smart. And, if your highly educated with street smarts for example, that’s a plus for an organization, that needs both.
For this reason, it is a great idea for a college student to volunteer with organizations they may wish to work for after graduation and I always tell people to have a back up plan, a back door, sort of speak that will help you reach the same goal, just from a different angle.
Best of luck and try to remember, many college graduates are having a difficult time finding a job, especially during a time when, how we do business is changing, thanks to COCID 19, therefore we have to move with the times or get left behind…
Spot on Jenn! There are so many talented kids applying more than ever to top and Ivy League schools that are not being accepted. My (African-American/Hispanic) daughter was NMS Semi-Finalist, 1500 SAT, 4.0 GPA, leaderships positions, 3rd in her graduating class and had a killer essay and didn’t make it. She did however get accepted into a great state college and is graduating next year debt free!