The biggest career fair for veterans in New England was held Wednesday at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.
“Heroes for Hire” has helped thousands of vets find work after they have served the country.
“We don’t call it a job fair,” explains Terry Brennan, Director of the Connecticut Department of Labor’s Office of Veterans’. “We call it a career fair because they might not get the job right away. But they have the interaction with the companies, they get their resumes out there, they get to talk to an interviewer with a company, so it’s a very good learning experience”
This is the 12th year the Department of Labor’s Office of Veterans has put on the event in an effort to make what can be a difficult transition, a little bit easier.
“For people transitioning out of the military, I think it’s kind of a heightened time of nervousness,” Michael Turner said. He served 20 years in the Coast Guard. “Just because you’re going from what you know to something you’re maybe not as familiar with so I think this kind of helps ease the transition.”
Heroes 4 Hire didn’t just feature employers, certified professional resume writers were also on site, as well as representatives from both the Connecticut and United States Veterans Affairs Administrations.
“This is a great time to get the companies and the veterans together,” Brennan said. “Last year we had over 300 veterans hired from this event.”
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From a strong sense of teamwork to leadership skills in the workplace, many veterans have qualities that are sought after by a number of employers.
“We very strongly believe in the values of when a service man and woman comes back from duty that they shouldn’t have to look very hard for a job,” Rob Keene said. Keene was at the event representing the Human Resources Development department at Ensign-Bickford Aerospace and Defense. “So we work very closely with the Department of Labor Veterans Office and they’ve been instrumental to helping us hire a number of veterans.”
More than 15,000 people took part in the career fair Wednesday.
