Keep the Employment Pipelines Open
Hire Vets: It's Good Business
Negative economic indicators and layoffs are daily news, but Bill Offutt, Executive Director of
the National Hire Vets First program, still has an optimistic outlook. "It is now," he says, "when
companies are laying off workers, that it is so important to keep the employment pipelines open."
Hiring new entry-level workers allows companies to maintain corporate culture and ensures
that there will be new energy and ideas in the company. Mr. Offutt explains that there are two
basic pipelines for new workers- college and the military. College workers account for about one
million new workers a year, and the military accounts for 220,000 a year. Veterans, many of them
under 30, are an important source of entry-level workers.
Hire Vets First is a national outreach program of the Department of Labor. The program works
to connect veterans with employers through "One Stop Career Centers." Here, they encourage veterans
to enroll in TAP. TAP, the Transition Assistance Program for Veterans, is a joint program provided
by the Department of Labor, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Defense. Through TAP, veterans
assess their competencies, gain resume and interview skills, and learn more about civilian and
corporate culture.
Employers hiring veterans should do their homework to understand the military to civilian
transition process. Mr. Offutt explains that some veterans may not be completely ready to go to
work. Some struggle with their decision to detach from the military while others are facing
physical and mental health issues.
The building and construction trades offer veterans a career with good wages and benefits
whether or not they have past construction experience. Mr. Offutts says, "Some veterans come out of
the military with hard construction skills if they were in the Army Corp of Engineers, or
Seabees. But most come with the soft skills: leadership, discipline and trainability."
Employers, unions and apprenticeship programs can find veterans interested in careers in the
construction industry through the Helmets to Hardhats website at www.helmetstohardhats.org.
The Helmets to Hardhats website allows employers, unions and apprenticeship programs to post
career opportunities and apprenticeships. Military service men and women can use a variety of
descriptors in their job search, including location, before they have detached from their units.
This way, employers, unions and apprenticeship programs are recruiting veterans where they are, but
provide jobs where the veterans want to be.
As a "One-Stop Career Center" veteran employment specialist says, hiring veterans "is not
goodwill, it's good business." Helmets to Hardhats is the perfect tool to accomplish this goal.
