Governor Cooper Proclaims Employ a Veteran Week

North Carolina will celebrate “Employ A Veteran Week,” Nov. 8-12, with a variety of events to help connect veterans to jobs and other services, Governor Roy Cooper announced today.

“In North Carolina, we appreciate our military, our veterans, and their families, who have all served and sacrificed for our country,” Governor Cooper said. “One great way that our employers can honor veterans is by hiring them, and as an added benefit they will also be getting some of the best employees they have ever had.”

In September, Governor Cooper joined North Carolina for Military Employment (NC4ME), the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (NCDMVA), and the North Carolina Department of Commerce in challenging businesses to hire at least one veteran, transitioning service-member, National Guard/Reserve member or military spouse between September and Veterans Day (Nov. 11).

Local events focused on helping veterans find jobs and access other services include:

• Tuesday Nov. 9 (8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.) - Interviewing Skills Workshop/Veterans Appreciation Breakfast, followed by a Recruitment/Job Fair, at the NCWorks Career Center, 1391 Bessemer City Road, Gastonia, NC.
• Tuesday, Nov. 9 (9 a.m. - noon) - Wilkes County Community Resource Fair for Veterans, at the NCWorks Career Center, 1320 West D Street, Suite 2, North Wilkesboro, NC.
• Tuesday, Nov. 9 (9 a.m. - 1 p.m.) - Veteran Appreciation & Community Hiring Event, at the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center, 200 Community College Road, Henderson, NC.
• Tuesday, Nov. 9 (10 a.m. - 1 p.m.) - Veterans Job & Resource Fair, at the NCWorks Career Center, 111 Jordan Plaza, Elizabeth City, NC.
• Tuesday, Nov. 9 (10 a.m. - 1 p.m.) - Lenoir County Drive-Thru Veterans Resource Fair, at the NCWorks Career Center, 231 Highway 58 South, Kinston, NC.
• Tuesday, Nov. 9 (10 am-2 pm) - Veterans Day Job Fair, presented by the NCWorks Career Center in Craven County in partnership with Dayspring Ministries, at 1246 Pollock Street, New Bern, NC.
• Tuesday, Nov. 9 (1 - 4 p.m.) - HKY4Vets Virtual Hiring Event for Transitioning Military & Military Spouses, Hickory, NC (www.HKY4VETS.com).
• Tuesday, Nov. 9 (2 - 4 p.m.) - Rivers East Virtual Job Fair, open to veterans and the general public (https://app.premiervirtual.com/events/a2d9389a-6dc9-4dc5-868b-fdb312e5e3d7/time-for-a-change/attendee).
• Wednesday, Nov. 10: NC4ME Virtual Hiring Event with the N.C. Department of Public Safety & the N.C. National Guard (nc4me.org/november/).
• Wednesday, Nov. 10 (9 a.m. - 3 p.m.) - Veterans Job & Resource Fair, at the NCWorks Career Center, 133 Island Ford Road, Statesville, NC.
• Wednesday, Nov. 10 (9 a.m. - 1 p.m.): Foothills Veterans Stand Down at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center, 1909 Hickory Blvd., Lenoir, NC.
• Wednesday, Nov. 10 (10 a.m. - noon) - Sandhills Regional Job Fair at the National Guard Armory, 500 E. Morganton Road, Southern Pines, NC. The event is also open to the general public from 12:30-2:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, Nov. 10 (10 - 11 a.m.): Virtual Job Fair conducted by the Turning Point Workforce Development Board and NCWorks Career Centers in Rocky Mount, Wilson, and Roanoke Rapids (https://app.premiervirtual.com/events/d51dee86-7697-4d32-8b21-d116553dc3b5/turning-point-workforce-development-board-regional-virtual-job-fair). The event is also open to the general public from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 12 (10 - 11 a.m.): Veterans Outreach Event at the National Guard Armory, 301 S. Glenburnie Road, New Bern, NC. The event is also open to the general public starting at 11 a.m.

“Recruiting and hiring veterans is a sound strategy in today’s labor market, and we are committed to helping North Carolina businesses connect to veterans, who bring incredible talents, skills and experience to the workplace,” said N.C. Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “Our new ‘First in Talent’ strategic economic development plan calls for improving and expanding upon existing programs that assist veterans in transitioning to the civilian workforce, while informing employers of the benefits of hiring these heroes.”

“As we approach the day our nation sets aside to honor our veterans, we encourage employers to honor vets by hiring vets,” said Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Military and Veteran Affairs Walter Gaskin. “Veterans bring distinctive capabilities and skills developed through real-world, high-pressure experience, and now employers can tap into this high-caliber talent to achieve challenging goals in their organizations.”

The Department of Commerce has 70 NCWorks Veterans Services professionals (all of whom are veterans themselves), whose mission is to help veterans find good jobs and training opportunities. These professionals are located across the state at local NCWorks Career Centers, which serve veterans and other jobseekers, while also helping employers meet their talent needs. Contact information for each career center can be found at www.NCWorks.gov. In addition, veterans and employers can access services through the NCWorks Veterans Portal at veterans.ncworks.gov.

Read the proclamation.

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