Largest Veteran Hiring Fair Held In Detroit
Brad Cooper in The White House Blog reports on his experience when he joined the Department of Veterans Affairs and thousands of veterans at the largest hiring fair held in Detroit in July. This fair for veterans was a continuation of the efforts of First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden’s Joining Forces Initiative last year. Aside from the job openings where over 1,300 veterans were offered jobs on the spot, there were other services as well. These include counseling services, medical examination and other assistance. Also in Detroit, the International Franchise Association launched its online Veterans Franchise Toolkit and a new Veteran Franchise Mentor Network. There are now almost 7,000 veterans involved in the franchising business.
Last week, I had the privilege of joining the leadership of the Department of Veterans Affairs and thousands of veterans in Detroit for the largest veteran hiring fair in America this year.
The result: More than 1,300 veterans have already been offered jobs… and the process is still ongoing.
This extraordinary effort builds on the 90,000 veterans and military spouses that have been hired in the last year through First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden’s Joining Forces initiative.
Job opportunities were available well beyond Detroit, with more than 200 employers across private and government sectors participating in the three day event.
In addition to meetings with HR specialists, the event included a small business conference and a Veterans Open House. And the VA offered a full-range of services to the event. For example: need to sign up for e-benefits and learn about your post 9/11 GI Bill? You could do it on the spot. Counseling services? On the spot. Medical exam? On the spot. Resume writing? On the spot.
But jobs were the main attraction. With the auto industry rebounding, Chrysler, Ford and GM were on hand to hire veterans. The state of Michigan was there and hiring. The federal government was hiring. And thanks to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the private sector was well represented, and did lots of hiring.
And the jobs weren’t only offered to veterans in the room. The VA made sure troops throughout the country and those still deployed in in Kuwait and Afghanistan connected with opportunities via video teleconference.
While in Detroit, I also joined the International Franchise Association (IFA) in launching a new online Veterans Franchise Toolkit and a new Veteran Franchise Mentor Network. Since joining forces with the First Lady last November, IFA has brought more than 6,900 veterans into the franchising business. And amazing 4,000 have become veteran franchise small business owners through their VetFran program …
Photo by slba180
