Americans encouraged to “Greenlight A Vet”
Walmart is looking to hire retired veterans, and company officials say they want the new “Greenlight” campaign to inspire other businesses to do the same.
The “Greenlight a Vet” campaign asks people to light a green bulb –purchased anywhere– on a visible location at your home or office as s symbol of appreciation for veterans. As support grows for vets, the campaign hopes appreciation turns into job offers.
Bill Sparks was in the military for 20 years. He retired back in 1980, and making the transition back to the civilian world wasn’t easy for him.
“I could not get a job working back at the airport radar even though I was a radar technician,” Sparks told ABC-7. Sparks is with the El Paso Veterans Business Association.
After failed attempts at finding a job, Sparks took it upon himself to change his career path, but other retired vets are still struggling with their transition into the job market.
Dave Nevarez of the El Paso Veterans Affair Committee said veterans face challenges integrating their knowledge into the workforce.
“Nurses, truck drivers, mechanics so on… if you don’t have those certifications that translate into a job in civilian world, you’re not gonna get hired,” he said.
Job hunting is a skill many veterans don’t have, even though they accrued valuable experience in the service, Sparks said.
“You get a mid-ranked NCO Staff Sergeant ten years in the service. He’s being downsized. He’s never applied for a job. He doesn’t know how to go out and dress for an interview.”
The Veterans Business Association and other non-profit organizations in El Paso can help get veterans ready for the job market.
Businesses like Walmart can open the doors for them to complete the transition.
Walmart has already committed itself to hiring 250,000 veterans by the year 2020, and in September, the company “greenlighted” their 100,000th veteran hire.
Locally, Walmart will host “Project Greenlight a Vet” in honor of all the El Paso veterans. The company will donate $5,000 to the Opportunity Center of El Paso Wednesday, which has a program to help vets.
To learn about the Greenlight A Vet campaigh, click here.
To learn about resources for veterans, click here.
