(DES MOINES) – Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, along with Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) leaders, spotlighted Iowa’s new push to encourage the hiring of veterans Wednesday at the administration’s weekly press conference.
“Our veterans have made enormous sacrifices,” Gov. Reynolds said. “It’s because of their selflessness that we’re able to enjoy our freedoms. That’s why we need to honor our veterans’ dedication to this country by doing everything we can to support them in civilian life.”
“Iowa is committed to hiring veterans and that includes the state as an employer,” IWD Director Beth Townsend said. “It is vitally important that we model what we teach to employers around the state by providing more opportunity to veterans and receive the significant benefits of hiring veterans.”
“It’s important and helpful for managers to know about the many benefits of hiring veterans,” DAS Director Janet Phipps said. “Veterans are team players, problem solvers and often have training for a variety of skills. Hiring veterans adds value to state agencies and organizations.”
Veterans return home with a unique skillset, yet many have a hard time getting hired. Hiring directors look at resumes for job specific experience. Veterans’ resumes are often overlooked because they don’t contain that job specific experience, but that doesn’t mean they’re not capable of doing the job.
The goal of the Hiring Veterans Workshop is to educate state hiring directors about the benefits of hiring veterans. State hiring directors are responsible for bringing the best and brightest people into their organizations. By understanding the value of veterans, they can add value to their organization by hiring more veterans.
Each state hiring director in attendance was encouraged to commit to increasing the amount of veterans in their applicant pools and bring more veterans on board.