The Air Force hopes nearly 1,600first-term airmen up to staff sergeant will re-enlist and retrain into 45 in-demand career fields in fiscal 2016.
The service estimates it needs 1,599 airmen in jobs such as cyber airmen, intelligence, pararescue, flight engineer, and missile and space facilities airmen, the Air Force Personnel Center said in a Thursday release.
Some jobs, including aerospace medical service airmen and flight and operational medical technicians, require certain skills for airmen to qualify to retrain. But most jobs are open to all airmen, AFPC said.
“The FTA retraining program allows first-term airmen, including staff sergeants who are in their first enlistment, to retain in conjunction with a reenlistment into skills where a shortage exists,” Chief Master Sgt. Bernadette Gregory, enlisted skills management branch chief, said in the release. “This is a great opportunity for first-term airmen to pursue a different career field while enabling the Air Force to maintain a healthy balance in all enlisted career fields.”
After requesting retraining, AFPC said airmen will receive an email within 20 days telling them whether they are eligible for the career field they’ve requested.
