A job fair Tuesday will kick off Maine’s annual Hire-A-Vet campaign.
Auta Main, veterans program manager at the Maine Department of Labor, says veterans bring a very desirable skill set to any job.
“Even at a young age they become leaders, they’re often supervising 30 or 40 people when they’re 20 years old. They come with leadership skills, teamwork. They’re prompt, they show up on time, they’re disciplined. They love mission and purpose,” she says.
Hire-A-Vet participant companies commit to taking an online course on military culture and to making every effort they can to hire veterans.
Main says there will be a wide range of jobs available.
“They just run the gamut from construction to IT to management professionals — it’s very broad range. And a lot in the medical profession as well,” she says.
Both veterans and nonveterans are welcome at the fair at the Augusta Armory. But there will be specific resources there for veterans looking to find work, like veterans representatives who can help with the job search, writing resumes and career planning, among other areas.
The Hire-A-Vet campaign last year resulted in 197 veteran hires at an average wage of just over $22 an hour. Main says the companies and nonprofits that take part include such diverse employers as Bath Iron Works, Hannaford and Backyard Farms.
