Hire a Veteran Day is this Sunday, July 25, and every year more than 250,000 service members transition out of the U.S. military and begin looking for work in the civilian sector.
“It is very intimidating to make that transition and often it's very challenging for veterans to highlight their transferable skill set,” said Britton Bloch, vice president of talent acquisition strategy and head of recruiting for NFCU.
In partnership with Hire Heroes USA, Navy Federal curated a Best Careers After Service List that examines which career paths are best suited for service members entering civilian life. From this research, health care, government and/or public administration, defense contracting, and information technology were most popular among transitioning service members.
“Hire Heroes is a nationwide effort to connect veterans, service members, and military spouses with employment opportunities through corporate fellowships, and it's no cost,” explained Bloch.
Navy Federal also partners with organizations to ensure service members have the skills to successfully transition. One such partnership is SkillBridge, a 3-6 month fellowship program for transitioning service members to gain civilian work experience at organizations like NFCU during their final 100 days of military service.
“So far, we have hired 16 SkillBridge fellows and have converted eight SkillBridge fellows to full-time roles,” said Bloch. “So we have about an 89% conversion rate.”
NFCU also participates in the Key Mentor Network, a nationwide voluntary effort for hiring leaders that includes Amazon, USAA, and Lockheed Martin among others.
“We are all competing for the talent but we put that to the side,” said Bloch. "The opportunity here is to help these transitioning veterans by giving them resume tips, career tips, highlighting opportunities that are available. We are all coming together as one to help the military community.”
Bloch said three years ago 9.8% of NFCU’s workforce was veterans. As of June 2021, that number has increased to 12%.
“Forty-five percent of our Navy Federal branch employees have ties to the military,” she added.
NFCU is also developing a military affairs-specific career landing page that will be dedicated to transitioning service members on its website, according to Bloch.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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