Virginia Tech leads regional effort to hire veterans

5 Aug 2013

Veterans Conference Speakers — Pictured from left to right: (top row) John Edwards, Randal Fulhart, (bottom row) Paul Galanti, and Sherwood Wilson.

Local business leaders are invited to the Virginia Tech campus on Aug. 20, when the university hosts a Virginia Values Veterans conference at The Inn at Virginia Tech, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Department of Veterans Services' Virginia Values Veterans Program (V3) certified 103 Virginia employers in its pilot year who have committed to providing over 4,000 jobs for Virginia's Veterans; 2,487 Virginia veterans have already been hired.V3 is a best practice initiative developed in support of Gov. Bob McDonnell's goal of positioning Virginia as the most veteran-friendly state in the nation.

The V3 program is a commonwealth-wide approach to creating employment opportunities for veterans.

Speaking about the V3 initiative, McDonnell said, "The program is unique in that it aims to build vital public-private partnerships by leveraging state and federal agencies and industry leaders to share resources and educate employers on how to tap into the exceptional pool of talented Veterans, National Guard, and Reservists in Virginia's workforce. We owe it to our brave men and women in uniform to do everything we can to ensure that there are opportunities for them when they return home."

During the day-long event, attendees will learn how their organizations can develop a system to recruit, train, and retain veterans.

The speakers include

John S. Edwards, senator, 21st District and U.S. Marine Corps veteran;
Paul E. Galanti, commissioner, Virginia Department of Veterans Services and U.S. Navy veteran;
Sherwood G. Wilson, vice president of administration and U.S. Navy veteran; and
Maj. Gen. Randal D. Fullhart, commandant of cadets, Virginia Tech.

The conference is one of many recent initiatives in which the Virginia Tech Department of Human Resources is demonstrating its commitment to hiring veterans.

In February, Virginia Tech became the first public university in the state to become certified as a Virginia Values Veterans employer. As the number of veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan and entering into the workforce has increased in recent years, Virginia Tech has expanded its efforts to help veterans find employment at the university.

In 2010, the Department of Human Resources established its Vet-to-Vet program after Director of Staffing and Recruiting Curtis Mabry and Staffing and Recruiting Specialist Christy Lowe noticed that the majority of the veterans who were applying for jobs on campus didn’t make the first round of cuts as a result of the difficulty translating military job experience into civilian job experience and skills.

Throughout the year, Mabry and his team attend dozens of job fairs across the country and spend time working with unemployed veterans the Radford, Roanoke, and Wytheville Virginia Employment Commission offices.

Recently, a committee of representatives from across the university has come together to begin looking at ways to improve veteran recruiting and outreach, as well as develop training and recognition programs.

Local business owners and community leaders are invited to attend the conference on Aug. 20. Tickets are $100 each, or $500 for 10. Advance registration is required.

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.