Photo By Staff Sgt. Andrew Wash | Service members, veterans and Spouses make their way through the booths setup by more...... read more read more
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Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington —“NCOs and Officers Wanted!,” “We Hire Leaders,” and “Troops into Transportation,” were just a few of the many signs encouraging military members to stop by the companies’ booths in Hangar 9 at McChord Field, Sept. 24, 2020, during an eight-day career summit presented by Hiring Our Heroes. The majority of this year's event took a more unique approach than previous years by offering a seven-day virtual experience culminating in a “hybrid” in-person and virtual career summit on the eighth day.
Due to Coronavirus restrictions, the first seven days of the virtual career summit were a variety of curated, on-demand video training, workshops and webinars . More than 500 active duty Service members, National Guardsmen, reservists, veterans, military spouses and caregivers participated throughout the near week long event.
The finale of the event resembled a more traditional job fair; aside from limited, staggered entry points the facility also maintained socially-distanced booth setups for the more than 50 companies. Army Command Sgt. Maj. (Ret.) John Wayne Troxell, former senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 37-year military veteran and now the brand ambassador for Hire Our Heroes, represented the organization during the career summit.
“For an employer talking to an individual, it's hard virtually to get that person-to-person kind of feel; not only with the verbal communication but the non-verbal as well. With the internet, you can have hiccups and things like that, but here it is a very deliberate and disciplined dialogue between the Service members and employers. You cannot replicate in-person experience,” he said, stressing the importance of in-person interaction.
This view was seemingly shared by many as there were more than 150 job seekers in attendance for the final day. For safety purposes, attendees were limited to small groups and were required to wear a mask while inside. The virtual portion of the summit took place from 2-4 p.m. and allowed another 33 companies to chat one-on-one with job seekers.
“Forty percent of our employment group right now are Soldiers and spouses,” said Jeff C. Allen, founder of Prime Express, a veteran-owned Amazon Delivery service partner operating out of Sumner, Washington. “What makes service members different from others, is that they are dependable, they’re problem solvers and they’re tough.”
Hiring Our Heroes, a division of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, was established in 2011 to help Service members further their careers after the military. Since Feb. 2014, Hiring Our Heroes has conducted 120 career summits on military bases across the nation.
“This event is designed to make connections for Service members and their Spouses by connecting them with employers who are eager and committed to hiring them,” said Marnie Holder, director of career summits for Hiring Our Heroes. “We’ve seen about a 40 to 42 percent placement, or offer rate, based on companies circling back and letting us know, and these numbers have been increasing over the last few years. These are growing and improving every step of the way.”
While the in-person tally at this year’s career fair seemed significantly lower than previously at JBLM, more than 500 job seekers attended online during the first-ever virtual summit.
“Really, it's about creating economic opportunity for those who have served their nation and their families,” Marnie Holder added. “The employers that come to [Hiring Our Heroes Career Summit] participate because this is the talent they want to seek first.”
| Date Taken: | 09.24.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 09.29.2020 21:37 |
| Story ID: | 379714 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 72 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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