Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Ralph Kapustka | Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar addresses Northeastern Minnesota employers during a...... read more read more
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DULUTH, Minn. - Representatives from 40 local area businesses gathered, Jan 11, 2013, with staff from the Department of Military Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs, the Minnesota Workforce Center, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and the Minnesota National Guard to discuss hiring veterans.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, 41,000 Minnesota veterans have supported Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom according to the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. Currently veterans in Minnesota have an 8 percent unemployment rate, which is higher than the state average 5.7 percent unemployment rate according to Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development's November 2012 statistics.
Lt. Gov. Yvonne Prettner Solon opened the Veterans Employment Event held at the College of Saint Scholastica. The lieutenant governor stated she and Gov. Mark Dayton "believe hiring veterans is one of the best investments employers can make and that Minnesota strives to be the most military and veteran friendly state in the union.”
Attendees of the Veterans employment event met in small groups to discuss the challenges preventing them from hiring veterans. The most common challenges included:
- Skills translation: Employers don't always understand how military technical training and leadership training transfers to the civilian community.
- Military jargon: Employers cannot understand the military jargon used by veterans during interviews and how it translates to the job they are applying for.
- Access to veterans: Employers have difficulty reaching out to veterans and credible veterans organizations.
The director of Women Veteran and Employment Initiatives of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Lt. Col. (retired) Barb O'Reilly advised employers to post jobs to MinnesotaWorks.net and to contact local area Minnesota Veterans Employment Representatives located in the Minnesota Workforce Centers. Likewise, veterans were encouraged to contact their Minnesota Veterans Employment Representative and post their resume to MinnesotaWorks.net.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar wrapped up the veterans employment event stating that "American veterans know what it means to stand up for something larger than themselves" and "they make terrific employees.”
Additional information for employers and veterans can be found at PositivelyMinnesota.com/Veterans.
| Date Taken: | 01.14.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 01.25.2013 18:42 |
| Story ID: | 101067 |
| Location: | DULUTH, MN, US |
| Web Views: | 85 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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