Military veterans are well positioned to meet the demands of a skilled and committed workforce. Their untapped talents and proven leadership should be utilized to help drive the economy and business. However, employers continue to struggle with understanding and implementing holistic strategies to recruit, retain, support and advance veterans in their firms. Misunderstandings, misconceptions and lack of actionable strategies fuel this struggle.
Goodwill’s veterans and military family services are uniquely qualified to continue bridge this divide between veterans and civilian employers. Our programs encourage effective transitional support for veterans and military families, focusing on the challenges that impact veterans’ employment as well as on educating civilian employers.
We’ve been very successful in our Operation: GoodJobs program, which helps connect employers and veterans. Our efforts have led to a higher number of veterans hired, and employers have reported an increase in their retention rates.
We also recognize that sharing veterans’ stories can be transformational for all involved; the act is both empowering for the veteran and meaningful for the viewing audience. One of the cornerstones of our efforts is the Homefront Chats initiative, which engages veterans from Austin and Houston, TX, and Tacoma, WA, to share their personal stories by recording a 1-2 minute video each month directly into a webcam on laptops provided by Goodwill®.
Over the next year, the Homefront Chats project will highlight the personal experiences of 15 veterans, each of whom will share their employment and reintegration stories over four separate videos. We invite you to follow their journeys on our YouTube channel, share the videos and post your words of support. Get started by checking out the first video by U.S. Marines reservist Lavon York below.
