Hungry for jobs, an estimated 800 military veterans and spouses attended a job fair Thursday designed to link vets with employers.
Hiring of veterans is becoming a major local and national initiative as thousands of active-duty personnel return home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The event Thursday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High included a range of veterans, from the recently discharged to those in their 50s and 60s.
“The job market is tough, but it’s not impossible,” said job seeker Anthony Wright, an Army and Navy veteran who left active service in 2003.
Wright, 39, said he views his military service as an asset in a field he hopes to enter: oil-and-gas production.
“The military gets you acclimated to hard work, long hours and periods of isolation,” he said.
Wright spoke with a recruiter from , an oil-field services firm, then visited a booth operated by . The fair was not intended to facilitate instant job offers, but Wright said he found several opportunities worth exploring.
The 64 employers at the event represented a mix of local and national companies. The fair was sponsored by employment firm and the .
“Veteran employment is a big deal for us,” said Matthew Menough, a corporate recruiter for Highlands Ranch-based . “We’re expanding our business, and I always find veterans to have a good work ethic. I think it’s definitely worth pursuing them.”
is making a big push to hire veterans.
“It’s important to me personally to support my fellow veterans,” said AutoNation recruiter Jen Rieck, a Navy reservist. “They’re good employees, and they’re well-suited to our business. They’re used to long hours, they’re very process-oriented, and they follow the book.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that the unemployment rate in 2011 for all veterans was 8.3 percent, compared with the national rate of 8.2 percent in March. The jobless rate for veterans who served any time since September 2001 — referred to as Gulf War-era II veterans — was 12.1 percent.
The University of Colorado Denver and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce recently launched a program to establish business mentoring, internships and job placement for veterans.
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
Veterans job program
Date: April 25
Event: Two panels and networking, hosted by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
Panelists: Eric Stutz, a senior tax manager with Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman; Andra Hargrave, an entrepreneur and veteran business consultant for the Denver Metro Small Business Development Center; and Todd Munson, president and Colorado market manager for JPMorgan Chase. Another panel features human-resources officials from Denver-area companies.
Information: /goldprograms
