October 20, 2004
Job fair helps vets market skills
Job fair sponsored by local VFW post draws nearly 200 veterans
By
Herald staff writer
Job seeking veterans and employers from across the Grand Traverse region had the opportunity to find out more about each other at last week's northwest Michigan Job Fair Plus.
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth partnered with the Cherryland VFW Post 2780 to bring together well trained, experienced, high performing veterans with businesses looking to hire them.
"We partnered with the Cherryland VFW Post to do this job fair because it is a poor time of year for anyone to find a job and we want to do everything possible to help vets find employment," said veterans employment representative, Gary Perkins of the Department of Labor and Economic Growth.
"There are over 16,000 vets in the six county area including Grand Traverse County, this represents nine percent of the overall population. It's no secret we are getting hundreds of newly discharged vets into the area every quarter," said Perkins, who works with veterans to assess their employment needs.
Perkins helps veterans by creating resumes and posting them to the Michigan Talent Bank and referring them to support services if they have other issues, such as housing, financial and health concerns that need to be addressed.
"Vets have paid dearly with time, effort and commitment to the service of their country. It is the least we can do to assist them with finding employment," Perkins noted.
Marcus Evans, a recently discharged veteran from Maple City, attended the job fair after receiving a letter from veterans employment representative, Don Clover.
"I was in the Army for four years and I have a degree in biology from Alma College. I'm hoping to be able to combine my experience and find a job. I will be registering my resume in the database and see what happens," Evans said.
"There is some useful information here. I am thinking about the Maritime Academy," he said.
Evans was typical of the nearly 200 veterans who attended the job fair.
According to VFW state employment officer, David Marin, the majority of people attending these fairs are young people with have a wide variety of skills they have picked up while in the military. Employers know that the government has spent the money on the training and that they will only have to put in a small amount to bring the employee up to speed.
"While employees want to hire veterans, they don't always know what they are getting. This is a good way to get a good cross section of the skill and talents that are available. A lot of talent is capitalized on. Employers have recognized the benefit, because it makes them money," Marin said.
Judy Martinson, of the recruiting and training department of the Michigan Department of Corrections, was among the employers looking to take advantage of the experienced veteran workforce.
"We have gotten a lot of good applicants that we wouldn't get in touch with if we didn't hear from them through the job fair," said Martinson, noting that veterans with an honorable discharge will have the Department of Corrections exam waived allowing them to move into positions very easily.
"Corrections has hired a lot of people with military experience because of their military mindset. They are usually very mature and have been through basic training. They follow through on a task. They are very well suited for the corrections department because of the military lifestyle," Martinson said.
In addition to the dozen or so employers, services such as the Social Security Administration, Helmets to Hardhats offering construction career apprenticeships, Northwest Michigan College, the Michigan Army National Guard, the American Legion and VFW provided one-stop service for veterans in attendance.
"It is all about matching skills to needs," Marin said.
For more information on hiring veterans, call 800-455-5228. Veterans may call 922-3719 for more information.