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Jobs
& Schools Veterans Job and Resource Fair at Balboa Park
DefenseTracker.com BALBOA PARK
- Veterans from San Diego and beyond lined up 40 minutes early Saturday,
resumes in hand, for a chance to speak to employers attending the
Veterans Job and Resource Fair at Balboa Park. Among the hundreds of aspirants giving up a weekend morning for an opportunity at steady work were Scottie White, a retired warrant officer from Camp Pendleton now living in Temecula, and Milton Lockley, a sailor from Escondido. For Lockley, who is retiring in a few months, this was his first veterans' job fair and gave the information technology specialist an insight into what his future might hold. Dressed in a dark suit and tie, Lockley paused from his networking long enough to take in the rows of about 60 white, tent-like booths bearing the names of companies such as Lockheed Martin, General Atomics, SAIC and Oracle. "This has been very informative and is giving me a good sense of what types of jobs are out there and how I might meet their needs," said Lockley, currently assigned to the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson. For White this was one of "plenty" of such job fairs he's attended since retiring as a data networking officer in late 2008. But just like his job field is always evolving, so, too, is the job landscape and keeping up with that is key in landing that next job. "There is always beneficial information at these job fairs, such as what IT (information technology) jobs are around the area and what the expectations are," White said. Job fair organizers issued statistics saying that while national unemployment figures hover around "9.9 percent that … The unemployment rate among our veteran community is 30-35 percent. The community that has served our nation with such valor is not being adequately reciprocated for their service. In fact, we appear to be failing miserably." In recent months, military job fairs have been criticized for being more hype than help and resulting in few if any new jobs. Jim Alexander, a retired Army logistics officer from El Cajon, wasn't willing to say that Saturday's event was a bust, but did note the number of colleges looking to sell training instead of hiring veterans and said that most companies weren't talking about filling specific jobs. "I wish they would put up a plaque that said what they were looking for," Alexander grumbled. "I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and pressed my outfit to come here. But I don't know what they want. It looks to me like it's mostly schools. I don't need to talk to someone for 20 minutes just to find out they are only looking for engineers. I mostly do logistics."
National and regional opportunities Camp Pendleton is hosting a career expo Feb. 25 at the South Mesa Club open to all men and women transitioning from active duty to civilian life as well as retirees, veterans, members of the National Guard and reserves as well as spouses. More than 30 military-friendly organizations will be on hand to speak with and interview job seekers. These organizations include corporate employers, law-enforcement agencies and educational institutions, hiring locally or seeking candidates for nation-wide placement. Maintenance, logistics, medical, management, driving, sales, engineering and aviation are some of the fields that companies are looking to hire in. Transitioning military and veterans are encouraged to pre-register and upload their resumes through the website: www.civilianjobs.com in order to better pair prospective employers and employees. Employers will receive a copy of the matched candidate's resume prior to the career expo. Upon signing in at the career expo, pre-registered candidates will get be a list of employers that match their skills and geographical preference. NOTE: Non-military ID cardholders who are veterans must pre-register online for the career expo no later than February 11, 2010, to be added to the base access roster. The career expos are open to all military ID card holders and their spouses, military retirees and veterans and any base personnel. For more information,
contact Bethany Adams by calling (678) 819-4170 or emailing her
at badams@civilianjobs.com.
Free Training Offered for Veterans Re-entering the Civilian Workforce Two free jobs workshops are scheduled Feb. 2 and 3 at the San Diego Convention Center during the AFCEA-West conference. The first workshop, entitled "Transition from the Veterans Perspective," will be held Tuesday, Feb. 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and feature military veterans who have successfully transitioned into careers in local industry. They will share their stories and answer questions. Later that day, the second workshop, "What Veterans Need to Know About the Corporate Community," will run from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Featured speakers include: Dean Ridgeway
from Citigroup On Wednesday, Feb. 3, a career fair and matchmaking event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Veterans are encouraged to bring resumes and meet some of San Diego's biggest supporters of hiring vets. Participants will learn which skills they possess are most valued by employers. Local employers will meet one-on-one with job seekers. The meetings are set for Room 1A on the upper level of the San Diego Convention Center and are free to veterans. For more information about the Veteran's Retraining Initiative, contact the VRI Chair, Dave Dickey, at (951) 587-1077 or visit the website at: www.afcea-sd.org
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management's Government-wide Veterans Employment Website is a critical component of the federal government's strategy for the recruitment and employment of Veterans. On November 9, 2009, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13518, Employment of Veterans in the Federal Government, which establishes the Veterans Employment Initiative. The initiative is aimed at assisting veterans find employment in the federal government. For more information,
go to: http://www.fedshirevets.gov/Index.aspx Coleman College:
San Marcos branch office: (858) 966-3975, Elaine Cahill, |
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