It's Hire a Veteran Day -- Here's What Iowa Is Doing to Encourage Veteran Hiring

Press Release

The State of Iowa is marking National Hire a Veteran Day by spotlighting efforts in the public and private sectors to encourage the hiring of veterans.

In May, Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg participated in a Hiring Veterans Workshop hosted by the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and Iowa Workforce Development (IWD). The goal of the workshop was to educate state hiring directors about the benefits of hiring veterans.

State hiring directors are responsible for bringing the best and brightest people into their organizations. By understanding the value of veterans, they can add value to their organization by hiring more veterans.

Veterans are team players, problem solvers and often have training for a variety of skills. They return home with a unique skillset, yet many have a hard time getting hired. Hiring directors look at resumes for job specific experience. Veterans' resumes are often overlooked because they don't contain that job specific experience, but that doesn't mean they're not capable of doing the job.

"Our veterans have made enormous sacrifices," Gov. Reynolds said. "It's because of their selflessness that we're able to enjoy our freedoms. That's why we need to honor our veterans' dedication to this country by doing everything we can to support them in civilian life."

Each state hiring director in attendance at the workshop was encouraged to commit to increasing the amount of veterans in their applicant pools and bring more veterans on board.

The State of Iowa is also home to 85 Home Base Iowa communities. Home Base Iowa is a one-of-a-kind program connecting veterans and transitioning service members with nearly 2,000 businesses statewide who have pledged to hire more than 10,000 veterans. In addition to 85 communities, the program also has 24 college and university partners.

The program establishes the connection using the "Find a Veteran" feature on its website. "Find a Veteran" allows Home Base Iowa businesses and communities to access all active veteran job seekers who have submitted a resume through the website.

Businesses and communities are also alerted by email when a veteran resume is published with matching location and industry criteria. These features allow program partners to directly connect and market to veterans by providing businesses with a user-friendly platform to find veterans with the skills they need.

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