Enabling The Empowered For Retirement Transition Advisory Roles In The Philippine Army

In this feature, we will share the latest service engagement our consulting had with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), in partnership with the Transition Assistance Program - Army Personnel Management Center or TAP - APMC. 

Reimagining retirement and ageing… Building healthy and productive communities that fight ageism is what makes the Ascenior Research, Training and Consulting (ASCENIOR) distinct and a first of its kind in the Philippine training and consulting landscape. 

ASCENIOR pioneers in delivering senior-focused development solutions such as holistic entrepreneurship programs and capacity building interventions in the country. It also supports productive and healthy retirement of uniformed men and women nationwide. How? 

Whether one is separating after a first-term enlistment or retiring with more than 20 years of service, transitioning from the military to civilian life can feel overwhelming. ASCENIOR, through its Retirement Transition Assistance Training (RTAT), is here to prepare the retiring individuals navigate the resources, benefits and opportunities available to help them have a successful transition. 

ASCENIOR’S specialty consultation is designed to help this sector of our society identify their (retirement) goals, learn about benefits available to them, and the know-how to be connected to resource providers. Sessions are tailored to meet unique needs and are available via “blended” learning methodologies. 

As a backgrounder, Ascenior's institutional linkage with the AFP is by way of delivering the latter’s Retirement Transition Assistance Training (RTAT) which is also actively implemented by the Philippine Army under the auspices of their in-house Transition Assistance Program (TAP). TAP is meant to address the myriad concerns of personnel on retirement and separation including health, income from career or job, their social connection from work, finances, and changing relationship with family as it seeks to ease the transition of concerned military personnel to civilian life (upon retirement or separation).

On September 8-10, 2021, ASCENIOR conducted a “Transition Advisers’ Training" in partnership with the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) - Army Personnel Management Center (APMC) of the Philippine Army. The goal of the 3-day learning program is to give TAP officers the necessary knowledge, understanding and practical experience on training needs assessment, training design, and post-training consultation, monitoring and evaluation. 

Participated in by over a hundred Philippine Army Transition Advisers from across the Philippines, the "Transition Advisers' Training" was packed with practical learning and highly interactive discussions on the following subject areas: training needs identification, training needs assessment tool, basic statistical techniques, training needs analysis and interpretation procedures, effective training program development, techniques in handling consultation and counseling, proper documentation for program monitoring and evaluation, and the importance of program impact assessment. The entire virtual learning experience was delivered by Ascenior's pool of subject matter experts / coaches, both from Philippines and abroad. 












Testimonials of Trainees

"The Transition Advisers’ Training conducted by ASCENIOR was truly enriching in that we had learned how to properly put together a comprehensive database of our beneficiaries, among others. We also learned how to design a more responsive training plan that meets the needs of our clients. Furthermore, we have learned to how effectively monitor and evaluate our clients post-attrition. ASCENIOR has provided the Transition Advisers with instructors that are trained and experienced professionals. They have also provided a meticulously crafted training design for the TAs, so that it matches the training process that we also follow in the military. We are truly grateful for the advocacy and expertise of ASCENIOR. We look forward to a stronger partnership and more projects in the future." 


CPT FELISE VIDA S. FUENTES (AGS) PA 
Chief, TAP - APMC

"My key takeaways from the training: Systematic database keeping is helpful in making sure that data is available when needed. No need to search through mountains of files just to look for information about transitionees. It saves a lot of time, physical space and effort on the part of the TAP office. Likewise, I gained better understanding on why the inherent task of TAP officers to be counsellors came as "fatigue duty" for me. First, because I am not a "natural talker". I am happy to just accept instructions and work. Small talk is not my thing. But the training helped me realize that a counsellor is not a "talker" but more of a "shock absorber". No need to negate or insist on what you know. No need to put words into the other person's mouth. Instead, as a counsellor, I need to be an ally that guides and helps a transitionee articulate his thoughts. A confidante that a transitionee can trust and confide in."