Several hiring and training initiatives are helping veterans make the transition from the battlefield to the boardroom.
When U.S. service members transition back to civilian life, finding a job should be one of the least stressful events of their lives. But that is not the case. A 2015 RallyPoint/Rasmussen Reports national survey of active and retired military personnel found that 24 percent think that finding civilian employment is the greatest challenge facing veterans today.
The main hurdle for veterans trying to transition to civilian jobs is explaining how their military skills and experience transfer to the civilian workplace. What's more, the military and veteran community struggles with conveying to potential employers how that experience can help their business excel.
The value veterans bring to businesses
"It's a daunting task for veterans to enter the civilian marketplace and find a job," says Joseph Kernan, chairman of NS2 Serves. The retired vice admiral from the U.S. Navy explains that the value veterans bring to the workplace is not always obvious.
According to Kernan, veterans often have had to overcome adverse circumstances and demonstrated a level of courage that other people their age have not had to endure. Discipline is a key trait for service members, for instance. This discipline transfers to civilian work in several ways. "Vets understand hierarchy and teamwork, they are goal-oriented, and they know how to commit themselves to the work," Kernan explains.
"Many young veterans have already been exposed to intense leadership situations that their civilian peers have not yet had the chance to encounter," adds James Nicholson, a retired colonel in the U.S. Army and former U.S. secretary of Veterans Affairs. He explains that because of their service experience, veterans have learned to lead by example, delegate, and adapt.
Kernan notes that veterans also are always ready to learn. "You never cease to learn when you serve in the military," he says. In addition to life skills service members must learn on the job, the military is always in the midst of training, arming men and women in the military with the skills they will need as they confront conflict or provide humanitarian support.
To help veterans overcome employment obstacles, many businesses have started initiatives that focus on hiring and developing vets. Supporting and Developing Veterans, a special supplement to TD magazine, spotlights several programs that companies from a variety of industries have put in place to successfully hire and support their growing veteran employee population.
Recruiting a pipeline of talent
Case in point: Senior leadership at ADP is committed to helping vets find their footing in the civilian job market. Specifically, ADP's talent acquisition team is focusing its veteran hiring and onboarding efforts at its large offices in El Paso, Texas, and Augusta, Georgia.
Tom Hiebert, a 28-year Army veteran, is senior director of veterans initiatives for ADP and a retired Army colonel He explains that the Augusta location is expanding by 450 new associates, and the company is doubling the size of its El Paso office from 1,200 associates to 2,500 associates over the course of the next three years. To accelerate these hiring efforts, ADP is executing formal training for HR leaders and hiring managers, educating them on how to translate veteran skills and talents to actual roles at the company. Training programs also review the best techniques for interviewing veterans transitioning out of the military.
"Our veteran hiring initiative has hit its stride with measurable results," says Hiebert. In 2015, the number of veterans ADP hired doubled compared with the 12 months prior, and the company is on track to double that number again by the end of 2016.
"Those who have selflessly served their nation, and committed themselves to something bigger than themselves, want to do more than simply find a job. They want to serve and make a positive contribution to the world and the community they live in," says Hiebert. "ADP gives veterans an opportunity to do that."
Fostering a network of support
EY is another organization dedicated to leveraging and promoting the valuable skills and experiences veterans bring to the table. "Veterans make great professionals; their military experience provides them with the leadership skills, confidence, and teaming abilities that can be gained in few other places," says Nancy Altobello, global vice chair of talent at EY.
In 2012, EY joined the 100 Veterans Jobs Mission Coalition, a private-sector solution addressing U.S. military veteran unemployment. Since then, it has hired more than 750 veterans for roles across all service lines and sectors. EY has added recruiting and onboarding specialists who focus specifically on improving its veteran hiring initiatives on U.S. college campuses, as well as for executive and experienced veteran professionals.
EY takes supporting veteran employment a step further, creating the EY Veterans Professional Network. Members attend networking events, career fairs, and panel discussions. According to Altobello, a key role of the network is to support and strengthen EY's veteran peer mentoring program. "The program matches new veteran hires to peer mentors who help them transition successfully into their role and responsibilities at EY," she says. Peer mentors help with career guidance, professional development, and networking opportunities.
The network also has partnered with other organizations on veteran issues and employment. For example, the EY Veterans Professional Network has worked with Johnson & Johnson to provide career counseling, resume review, and interview instructions to help military personnel transition to professional careers. "This helps our veterans connect with one another, our clients, and the larger veteran communities across the United States," says Altobello.
Training for in-demand skills
NS2 Serves is an independent, nonprofit organization established by SAP National Security Services that trains veterans for new careers. A group of diverse veterans selected for the program participate in an 11-week, in-resident training course in SAP solutions geared for U.S. national security missions. Specifically, the program provides training and certification in SAP Business Warehouse. Trainees learn modeling and data management, such as how to model, extract, load, analyze, and report on data in ways that prepare them for careers as a business analyst, Business Warehouse technology consultant, or business process owner.
Training on business and personal skills is another fundamental piece of the program. Trainees tackle a series of learning modules that address communications, presentations, and team leadership. The program reinforces their sense of teamwork and unity—skills they learned during their service in the military.
Something unique to the program is how it provides participants room and board, a monthly stipend during the training program, and midterm bonuses for completion of requirements. Upon graduation, participants leave with a "Certified SAP Associate" status, a credential that is valuable in many career paths in the United States and worldwide. In addition, NS2 Serves helps provide job placement assistance to work in the U.S. national security field. Parts of the program focus on teaching interviewing and resume writing. In the end, Kernan explains, NS2 Serves is focused on one real outcome: a job.
The program, which launched in 2014, has graduated more than 100 participants, and is growing. Its original goal was to train 450 people by 2020, and the program is on track to far exceed that number. Thanks to word of mouth and the success of its graduates, organizations are starting to come to NS2 Serves with partnering opportunities. For example, Accenture Federal, which already has hired graduates, is working with NS2 Serves to develop a program that trains veterans in San Antonio, Texas, for spring 2017.
"With just a little investment on the part of businesses, veterans have the life experience to reach success," says Kernan. "Veterans just want an opportunity. They don't need anything more than that."
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