Maine Hire-A-Vet Campaign Connects Veterans to Jobs

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (WAGM) – The Hire-A-Vet Campaign is an annual statewide effort put on by the Department of Labor and Maine Career Resource Center to place veterans in lasting employment after serving. NewsSource 8 reporter Janelle Lopez takes us to an event held today at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.

These employers have come together to hire veterans. This is the second of four stops being put on by the Hire-A-Vet Campaign this year.

“We have over 45 employers and resource providers that are here to assist veterans and also all job seekers with employment opportunities as well as veterans resource services. We kicked off the campaign in August at the Augusta Civic Center. We’re here at UMPI today on the second stop. Our third stop is going to be in Poland Spring in Oxford County and we’ll wrap up the campaign in November at York County Community College in Wells.” says Leo Deon. Veterans Program Manager for the Maine Department of Labor.

Deon says Maine has about 106,000 veterans.

“It rates in the top three as far as the number of veterans per capita. In any one time about 47% of those veterans are either employed in the workforce or looking for work and those are the veterans that we’re trying to connect with. To get them into maybe their first job after the military service. Or to get them a career upgrade and help them provide sustainable, meaningful career opportunities as they pursue their civilian employment.”

Over the years, this has been accomplished by the Hire-A-Vet Campaign, according to Deon.

“In 2023 we had 237 veterans hired as a result of our campaign. Since the campaign started in 2015, we’ve had over 2,000 veterans placed in meaningful employment as part of our campaign efforts. And we’re hoping this year, I mean our goal is 100 veterans in 100 days by 100 employers. We’re hoping to of course surpass that 100 veteran hire goal this year as well.”

Employers are seeking qualified individuals, veterans bring unique skill sets to a job, not only technical and mechanical skills but also leadership, communication, and teamwork to add to workplace culture.

“Being a defense contractor and supplying the Arleigh Burke Destroyer to the Navy, our president is actually a veteran himself and we believe in the value of transferable skills that veterans are exiting service and we want to be a leader in hiring those veterans to our yard. I would say that all veterans have the skills to transfer into the jobs that we do have open. Specifically in the trades, a lot of what we do a lot of veterans are already doing in service. It’s kinda seamless whenever they’re exiting and joining our shipyard. Out of close to 7,000 employees, roughly 1,000 of our yard are veterans so we love the veteran community. We really really value their input and expertise within our yard so we want to be out here looking for them all the time.” says Patrick Sense, Program Manager of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at Bath Iron Works

The hiring event had open registration for veterans as well as non veterans presenting the same opportunities for the public.

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