FAYETTEVILLE – On Wednesday, Aug. 17, North Carolina for Military Employment will host business leaders at its Military Employment Summit aboard Fort Bragg.
Designed to help N.C. companies integrate military hiring into their workforce strategy and make annual veteran hiring commitments, this initiative has already worked to help hire over 600 Veterans across the state. Pulling in business and government leaders from across the state, NC4ME is showing how military talent can drive economic growth and how industry leaders are incorporating veterans into their workforce.
Speakers at the Summit will include:
— Kimberly Lindsay Williams, executive director, NC4ME
— Ilario Pantano, senior director of Programs & Services Institute for Veterans and Military Families
— Secretary Cornell Wilson, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
— Earl Richburg, director of Veteran Employment, Wayne Brothers Construction
— Stan Roberts, engineer, Cisco Systems
NC4ME’s Williams says that “these Summits are a critical piece of NC4ME’s strategy to make North Carolina the number one state for military employment, and are intended to spread our partners’ shared conviction that veteran hiring is not about altruism – it’s about driving bottom-line business results.”
She went on to say that, “none of this would be possible without the generous support of NC4ME’s founding sponsors, Cisco Systems and MetLife… Private sector support is critical to the success of this program, and we look forward to adding additional sponsors to our ranks in the near future.”
“MetLife has a long connection to the U.S. military, with our first policies insuring Civil War soldiers against wartime-related disabilities,” said Binu Thomas, vice president, MetLife Global Technology & Operations and an executive sponsor of the Cary chapter of the MetLife Veterans Network. “Today we are continuing that commitment not only through the products we sell, but also by actively recruiting veterans for roles across MetLife. We are proud that by being a founding sponsor of NC4ME, we are helping other North Carolina employers connect with talented veterans and make the most of their unique skills and experiences.”
Between 2015 and 2018, 78,000 service members will transition out of North Carolina military bases, adding strength to the 372,000 working-age veterans already in the state. NC4ME complements the vast number of programs currently preparing these veterans for civilian employment by making improvements on the – often overlooked – “demand side” of the employment equation, in the process giving a much needed boost to military job seekers in North Carolina.
For information, or to register for any of the events, visit www.nc4me.org.