As the economy continues to improve nationwide, more companies look to hire well-trained workers who can help them for years to come. And one area where many such businesses now turn toward with greater frequency is veterans, who likely developed a lot of skills that are applicable to the working world during their time of service.
One industry in which this kind of hiring effort has become quite popular in the past few years is the tech sector, where companies are always on the lookout for highly talented employees, according to a report from TechCrunch. Veterans, especially those whose job during their service was to work with computers, can prove valuable assets to any tech company, but there is still some disconnect regarding how both sides of this equation work to fill each others' needs.
Working toward a solution
Organizations such as VetsinTech work to bridge the gap between tech companies and veterans who would make good job candidates, the report said. Some experts have noted companies sometimes tend to lean away from hiring veterans even if these individuals are qualified to do a job, and the tech sector is no different.
To that end, what VetsinTech does to organize job fairs, training classes, hackathons, and more can show both sides getting vets working for tech firms en masse is not only feasible, but also a good idea. And with as many as 1 million veterans coming into the workforce in the next five years, the organization is also dedicated to teaching veterans about the value of entrepreneurship so they can work for themselves if they want.
One major resource now gone
One recent news story came as a big worry to many vets trying to bolster their skills as they enter the workforce again, according to a report from Houston CBS affiliate KHOU. In early September, ITT Technical Institute, which has a long history of recruiting and training veterans, announced that it was shutting down effective immediately. That move left some 12,000 former service members in the lurch when it came to everything from tuition and housing benefits to something as simple as getting their course transcripts.
"There's nothing the VA can do, it needs Congressional action," U.S. Rep. Gene Green, who represents part of Houston, told the station. "A veteran shouldn't be punished for going to a school that has been in business and all of a sudden it didn't want to comply with the rules."
Problems related to finding steady, well-paying jobs are real for many veterans. As such, the sooner companies and organizations can get out in front of the veteran hiring trend, the better off all involved will be going forward. It's nearly impossible to overstate how important having a steady job is to keeping former service members happy and healthy in their lives.