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Spy school means new job

Woman says 10-week ‘boot camp’ helped her land a position with a local defense contractor.

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By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer Updated 10:32 PM Friday, June 19, 2009

For Trina Walsh, there’s no doubt about it: Studying at the Advanced Technical Intelligence Center for Human Capital Development cut short her jobless stint.

Walsh is starting employment with a local defense contractor, one she declined to name, June 29, she said Friday June 19.

Walsh, 54, is one of the unemployed counted Friday when the state announced that its May jobless rate had hit 10.8 percent, up from 10.2 percent in April, the highest rate in more than 25 years.

“Absolutely, without question,” the Germantown resident said when asked if studying at the center led to her new job. “I was told that during the (employment) interview, in fact.”

The school, located in the Pentagon Park office corridor off Interstate 675, opened in February. It trains analysts, equipping them for key security clearances, sometimes on an accelerated schedule.

The school has a 10-week program squarely aimed at those who find themselves between jobs — people like Walsh, a veteran of LexisNexis, and more recently, Mazer Corp. The latter company closed in December 2008, and Walsh has been unemployed since then.

For those who have a job but are considering a career change, the center has a nine-month program. Walsh was one of 28 students taking part in an inaugural 10-week “boot camp.”

The school requires a basic competence in math and an interest in the field, Walsh said. No other prior intelligence experience is necessary. The curriculum includes critical thinking, technical writing, briefing skills, an overview of intelligence work and a look at worldwide military capabilities course.

“There was clearly a lot I did not know, but I didn’t quite realize how useful my research background, primarily obtained through LexisNexis, would be,” Walsh said.

After reading of the center in the Dayton Daily News and speaking with colleagues, Walsh knew there would be a demand for people with clearances. She suggested to her Montgomery County Job Center case manager the idea of studying there, and the process started.

The Workforce Investment Act — a federally funded program — allocated $10,000 for Walsh’s training, said Ann Stevens, a job center spokeswoman.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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