Daily Archives: April 2, 2014

Transitionnews: Military/Veteran Jobs and Benefits news of the day for for 4/2/14

Posted by Mike Grice on

Good news story of the day

March Was First Month Without U.S. Fatalities in Iraq or Afghanistan In 11 Years  (Time)  For the first month since February, 2003, no U.S. troops died in Afghanistan or Iraq last month.

Military Transition and Jobs News

Veterans Job and Resource Fair set for Thursday  (Shreveport Times)  A job and resource fair targeted at veterans and service personnel who will depart the ranks in coming months is scheduled for Thursday at the Bossier Civic Center on Benton Road.

Understanding vocabulary of returning vets will help them find jobs  (KSL)  With the unemployment rate for veterans still significantly higher than the national average, a simple lesson in military vocabulary might help drive down that number and help our nation’s heroes gain valuable employment.

War Veterans Open Up About Employment Challenges At Home In This Activision PSA  (FastCompany)  The unemployment rate for post-9/11 American veterans is higher than their non-veteran peers and it’s likely just going to get worse as the Pentagon gets set to shrink the U.S. Army to around 450,000 members, down from a high of 570,000.

Veteran, 21, Says Macy’s Denied Her Job Because of Her Service  (ABC6 On Your Side)  A 21-year-old Afghanistan veteran says she was denied a job at Macy’s because she served in the U.S. military.

USC Price raises scholarships for student veterans  (The University of Southern California)  The USC Price School of Public Policy raised more than $128,000 in scholarship funds for its undergraduate veterans and ROTC reserve officers at a fundraising reception in Beverly Hills.

Jersey vets need help to find jobs: Editorial  (NJ.com)  It remains a mystery why military veterans who come home to New Jersey when their service ends have a tougher time finding jobs than anywhere else in the 50 states.

Veterans News

Veterans gather for coffee, support  (Gazette.net)  A cup of morning coffee is bringing together a group of residents Monday mornings at the Chick-fil-A in La Plata.

April is Paralyzed Veterans Awareness Month  (Business Wire)  April marks Paralyzed Veterans of America Awareness Month and the 68th anniversary of the founding of the veterans service organization.

Student Veterans: An Investment Paying Off  (Military.com)  That veterans struggle after going from the military into a scholastic environment is a point of view not shared by Student Veterans of America (SVA). And data seems to back up their stance.

VA Faces Backlash, Reverses ‘Morally Wrong’ Cuts That Would Affect Homeless Veterans  (The Huffington Post)  The Department of Veteran Affairs is hoping a reversal in policy will appease some community groups fighting veteran homelessness.

Gov. Scott asks answers in VA hospital deaths  (Tampa Bay Online)  Gov. Rick Scott is the latest politician seeking answers about deaths at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals.

Veterans Affairs Scrutinized Over Rehiring of Employee After Fatal Incident  (NBC Washington)  The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, one of the government’s largest employers, is under congressional scrutiny for its handling of a high-level employee in the wake of a News4 I-Team investigation.

Benefits News

Study Finds Over One Million Caring for Iraq, Afghan War Veterans  (The Wall Street Journal)  Megan Stewart follows her husband, Tim, around the house in Coloma, Mich., trying to make sure he remembers things like putting on his jacket before going outside or turning off the stove after making dinner.

Forging Partnerships, Building Friendships and Serving Veterans…the Washington State Way  (The White House)  It’s hard for one person to change the world. But with the power of partnerships, more specifically friendships, I truly believe that anything is possible!

Commissary cuts could hurt MWR programs  (Military Times)  Proposed cuts in commissary funding not only would drive shoppers away because their grocery prices would rise, but also could have a “devastating” ripple effect on base morale, welfare and recreation programs, advocates said.

If you would like to receive Transitionnews daily via email, just enter your preferred email address in the “Email Subscription” box on the sidebar.

Have a great day!

Advertisement

A few thoughts on job and career fairs, part 3: Industry sponsored events

Posted by Mike Grice on

Job and career fairs are not all the same, and this is the third in a string of posts about the different types of transitioning military and veteran job and career fairs.  In the last post we explored fairs that focus on open events held on military bases, and in this post we will shift from military bases to industry sponsored events in which a specific company, group of companies, or an industry hosts an event that focuses on their specific area.

Industry specific opportunities are usually centered around providing insights for veterans and transitioning military into what businesses within the industry specialize in, such as manufacturing, oil and gas production, financial services, and healthcare.  They are usually held outside the realm of military bases at either a hosting company’s facility or a hotel or conference center.  There is usually no cost for transitioning military or veterans to attend, and often there are industry-centered orientation an training seminars offered during the event.  Since the seminars are hosted by companies or groups of companies, there are usually hiring managers present with job opportunities in hand that they want to fill with the veterans who participate in the seminar.

One example is the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program (MVP), which conducts recareering seminars for veterans and transitioning military that are sponsored and supported by companies within the life sciences industry.  These events are held at sponsoring company headquarters or training centers, and offer an inside view of the hosting business and the larger industry, along with skills building training and mentorship.  MVP will be conducting two such events in New Jersey during the next two months, the first of which will be held at Ethicon, a Johnson and Johnson company on April 29th, 2014.  For more information, follow this link to the press release for the event, and it is republished below as well:

MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program Announces New Jersey’s First Veteran and Transitioning Military Re-careering Seminar

SOMERVILLE, N.J., April 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — On April 29th, the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program(www.mvpvets.org) will host its inaugural re-careering event for transitioning military and veterans in New Jersey.  Military personnel in transition from service and honorably discharged veterans are invited to apply for the opportunity to participate in this free one day seminar that will include active one-on-one mentoring, industry specific training, eLearning enrollment, and personal engagement with hiring managers seeking to employ program participants.

The event brings veterans and transitioning military together with mentors from the medical technology industry while they participate in active sessions that include resume review and refinement, job interview training and rehearsals, creating a professional online presence in social media, and networking. Hiring managers from companies strongly desiring to hire transitioning military and veterans participate in the program as mentors, trainers, and interviewers.

The event on April 29 will be hosted by Ethicon, Inc., a global leader in the medical device industry, at their Somerville facility.

Participants will be able to submit their resumes for review and editing the week prior to the event so that they can be thoroughly prepared for submission to hiring managers. Additionally, each participant will be provided with personal business cards for use in networking and job-seeking.  Capacity for this event is 30 people maximum.

There is no cost for participating veterans and transitioning military.  All materials, breakfast, lunch, and parking are provided free of charge.  Transitioning military and veterans interested in participating in the program can apply at the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program website (http://www.mvpvets.org/public-events/mentor-and-veteran-workshop-new-jersey/registration.html)

About the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program (MVP):
The MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program is a nonprofit organization with the mission to bring 5,000 veterans and transitioning military into the Life Sciences by 2018.  Co-founded by  Abiomed (www.abiomed.com) and Zero Boundaries Global (www.zbglobal.com), MVP brings active mentorship together with an integrated collaborative online portal and eLearning from the Life Collaborative in a concerted effort to help those who have served the country in uniform re-career into meaningful and impactful careers in the MedTech, MedDevice, BioTech, Pharmaceutical, BioFuels, and Wireless Medical Technology sectors across a variety of corporate functional areas such as project management, supply chain, quality, and many others. http://www.mvpvets.org

 SOURCE MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program

(In the interest of full disclosure, I serve as the Chief Operating Officer for the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program, which is a 501(c)3 fiscally sponsored nonprofit organization that aims to recareer 5,000 veterans and transitioning military into the life sciences by 2018)