Our Employment and Training team hosted a Veterans in Manufacturing resource fair and hiring event at Laney College to assist veterans in the community.
In early May, Swords to Plowshares’ Employment and Training team hosted a veterans in manufacturing resource fair and hiring event at Laney College. This event was organized to assist dozens of veterans in the community, most of which sought our employment services after hearing that layoffs were in their near future, as the manufacturing plant they are working at is preparing to close.
Many of these veterans have been with the company for decades, and most planned to finish their careers with the company. However, since the announcement, these veterans have been grappling with the uncertainty of their futures and began to ponder new employment opportunities. Our team caught wind of these impeding layoffs and reached out to these veterans to inform them about the employment services we could offer them.
Prior to the event, our Employment and Training team worked with these veterans to revise and refresh their professional resumes and conducted mock interviews with them to prepare for this upcoming transition. Our network of veteran-friendly employers with open manufacturing positions gave our veterans an opportunity to book on-site interviews.
Dale Skuckerow, U.S. Navy veteran and 30-year career manufacturing employee, had already received assistance in sprucing up his resume and attended the resource fair and hiring event to network with employers. Dale was looking for similar opportunities in advanced manufacturing that matched his skillset, saying, “I have not had to go back into the workforce for quite some time, and fortunate for me, I have had the help of you all at Swords to Plowshares to make this process just a bit easier.”
“At Swords to Plowshares,” Director of Employment and Training, Octavious Scott, said, “We work hard to connect job-ready veterans to employers who value the skills veterans bring to their workforce.” He is grateful for the hard work of his staff and to the companies of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, BART, Tesla, United Airlines, and MDC Vacuum for stepping up to the plate to hire our veterans.
To learn more about employment opportunities for veterans, or if you are an employer interested in learning about how you can support and hire veterans, email us at employment@stp-sf.org.
“Understandably, veterans can be wary and not trust us immediately – especially if they are women or struggling with mental health conditions. This isn’t only about getting veterans housed; we’re also establishing relationships with them out where they feel the safest – which may be in their tent or on a bench they frequent. It’s worth it to come out here determined to make a connection.” - Tonya Greenlee, Swords’ Outreach
From the streets of San Francisco to behind the barber chair, Zack’s story is one of resilience, community, and second chances – a reminder that with the right support, every veteran has the power to rebuild.
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