Last year, unemployment among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans trailed the national average by almost 4 percentage points. Though many companies recognize the benefits of hiring veterans, few have the expertise and knowledge needed to attract, evaluate, and retain members of this extraordinary talent pool.

“This is a great opportunity to introduce New York City employers to a variety of methods to hiring veterans,” says Zach Iscol, Founder and CEO of HirePurpose. “Employers can learn why hiring these exceptional young men and women can be incredibly beneficial to their businesses and we are very excited to have partnered with Four Block and the Wounded Warrior Project.”

More than 80 companies, including Wal-mart, Goldman Sachs, Viacom, Delta, Etsy, Securitas, The Ladders, and others from a wide range of industries will be in attendance to learn best practices from leading experts in the veteran employment space. Employers will also hear from a group of recent military veterans and college graduates about the challenges they’ve faced and the types of industries they are interested in.

“Wounded Warriors come to the table with an extraordinary set of soft skills that employers crave,” says Lisa Stern, Economic Empowerment Executive Vice President at the Wounded Warrior Project. “Veterans are loyal, work well independently and as part of a team, are creative, and are mission-focused.”

Linda Cawley, a specialist of the Warriors to Work program for the Wounded Warrior Project, and Mike Abrams, Co-Founder of Four Block Diversity Leadership, a service that provides student veterans with professional development and connects them with internship opportunities at corporations, will lead a panel discussion titled, Hiring, Managing, and Retaining Veterans.

A second panel, Veterans Speak: Employment Challenges Facing Veterans, will be lead by Bryan Adams of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Aubrey Arcangel of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Joshua Ray of Operation Iraqi Freedom-Indonesia Tsunami Relief, and Katie Dexter of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Via EPR Network
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