July 25 Is National Hire a Veteran Day

National Hire a Veteran Day was created as a way to encourage employers to consider hiring veterans for their open positions.

Each year, approximately 200,000 men and women transition from active military service to civilian life.

The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that, of the 19.2 million veterans in the U.S., 19% (3.1 million) served during Gulf War era I, August 1990 to August 2001, and 21% (4.1 million) served during Gulf War era II (September 2001 forward). About 10% of all veterans are women; the number jumps to 16% for women serving in Gulf War era I and 17 percent for women serving in Gulf War era II.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the unemployment rate among veterans in June 2019 was 3.2, down from 3.3 percent in June 2018; this represents the lowest veteran unemployment rate in the month of June since 2001. But a bigger problem than unemployment for many veterans is underemployment.

Highly trained and highly skilled veterans are looking for opportunities that match their military training and experience, says a study conducted by VetAdvisor and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University (IVMF). Ninety percent of study respondents identified the opportunity to use their skills and abilities as the most important aspect of civilian employment. It’s not too surprising, then, that 43% of respondents said they remained in their first civilian job 12 months or less and more than 80% remained in their first job less than two years. Two of the top reasons they cited for leaving their first jobs were lack of career development or advancement and dissatisfaction with job quality.

Since 2017, Veterans@Channel Partners has been providing veteran job seekers with the opportunity to attend a Channel Partners conference where they can attend education sessions, network and learn about careers in IT, telecom and the channel. To facilitate the program, Channel Partners has partnered with TrainOurTroops, an Austin-based 501(c)(3) veteran non-profit organization that provides U.S. veterans and their spouses with free advanced online training and certification solutions to give them a competitive advantage in the civilian job market and ignite their careers.

Sponsorship for the Veterans@Channel Partners at Channel Partners Evolution this September in Washington, D.C., is being provided by Granite Telecommunications. It is their sixth consecutive sponsorship.

Two sponsorships for the fall show are still available. If you’re interested in sponsoring veterans at this show or in the future, or if you would like more information on Veterans@Channel Partners, please feel free to get in touch with me at [email protected].