Helping Veterans get back to Work

Official Talascend Release
November 19, 2013


Ann Spaven, Talascend's Senior Technical Recruiter

Ann Spaven, Talascend Senior Technical Recruiter, has certainly made an impact on the community by simply doing what she does best and that is helping individuals find work. Ann has been working for Talascend since 2002 and truly has a knack for finding the skills in people that employers require. To date, she has placed nearly 500 people within the workforce in areas from administrative to executive level candidates.

In 2011, Talascend, Macomb Community College and the Piquette Square for Veteran organizations joined forces to help our Veterans get back on their feet and into the workforce. Given Ann’s natural ability to communicate, her passion for people and extensive industry knowledge, Ann was selected on Talascend’s behalf to extend her gift to those lacking both basic job training and business orientation as the Primary Developer and Trainer of Talascend’s Global Training Academy’s (GTA), Transition to the Workplace Program.

“Ann has been a vital piece to Talascend’s Transition to the Workplace Program. Her passion to her work and her ability to communicate made this a very successful program. In addition, serving the needs of our veterans pursuing, a sometimes overwhelming job market, is satisfying beyond measure.” - quoted Jason Dawson, Talascend Executive Vice President.

Veteran, Roy Ealy was one of Ann’s first “Transition to the Workplace” students and at a point in his life to make some needed changes. From the day he first stepped foot in the program, he never looked back. He changed habits, established goals and made a plan to take what he learned from his past to better himself for the future. With a little help from Talascend’s curriculum and Ann’s superior mentorship, Roy did just that.

Below is Roy’s story that Talascend is honored to share, as impacts such as these do not happen every day.

September 26, 2013

Hello Ms. Spaven,

I met you in December of 2011 when I went through Talascend’s course “Transition to the Workplace”. At the time, I was struggling with my past and desperately trying to rebuild my life to do something positive. You helped me with my resume and more importantly, you gave me the confidence to achieve my career goals.

It wasn't easy, but I kept going and am happy to announce my success over the past 2 years. I now work for Ford Motor Company at their Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, MI. I am a full-time student at Wayne County Community College District and I have my own apartment.

I recently visited a friend who lives in the Piquette Square Building and he mentioned your name and that is why I write this letter. I wanted to let you know that you still have a profound effect on people's lives. You were a major positive influence in my life and I still have the certificate of completion you gave me hanging on my wall.

Thank you for encouraging me at a time in my life when I needed it the most. I really needed your kind words and thank you for all you did.

Roy A. Ealy

About Talascend

Talascend is a Veteran Owned Business that is dedicated to the success of our nation’s civilian and veteran personnel. To date, the Talascend organization has a staff of 60 experienced and tenured recruiting professionals, a contract community of nearly 700 employees working on-site at our partnering accounts, and a candidate community of 1.2M+ engineering, technical and skilled trade professionals.

With 75+ years of staffing success, Talascend has been one of the most reliable and effective providers of strategic staffing solutions for clients serving multiple industry verticals needing top talent in engineering, technical, and skilled trade disciplines. Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, the Talascend companies have worked with some of the world’s largest and best-known organizations on an extensive range of high-profile projects nationwide. If you are looking for a new career, or to grow your workforce, contact us today!