INDIANAPOLIS, July 24, 2019-The Collision Industry Conference in Indianapolis started its first day with an attention-grabbing presentation by Roxann Griffith of the Department of Labor, Apprenticeships, Veteran Programs.
Griffith shared how to attract and hire veterans into the collision repair industry. The crowd eventually gave her a rousing round of applause in order to encourage her to create a webinar of her presentation for future reference.
“I’m funnier when I’m talking,” Griffith says, when someone asked her to create a PowerPoint presentation.
The median age for a veteran is 64 years old and, while there are more male veterans right now, female veterans are increasing.
Veterans have a unique mix of experience, value and talent, Griffith says. In fact, if a shop owner tells the veteran how their job is important to the mission of the business, most often, that’s all veteran employees need to know to be committed to their job.
Griffith also says it’s good for employers to show the potential hire what a career path could be for them at the body shop.
And, veterans are more apt to look to companies that show their Veteran Friendly side publicly, or in other words, show their dedication to hiring veterans at a job fair for example, or through a public announcement.
Some resources for businesses looking to hire veterans include: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hiring Our Heroes events, the American Job Center Network for the veteran pipeline, transitioning service member pipeline, and individual states’ workforce agencies.
