San Diego veterans who served post-9/11 can apply for a program
announced Monday that would guarantee them a temporary job at Qualcomm.
The program, through the Manpower San Diego staffing agency, will
provide the veterans two weeks of paid training on how to navigate and
participate in the civilian work force. Then, it’s off to Qualcomm,
where the graduates will have six-month, 40-hour-a-week positions in the
company’s information technology department.
Phil Blair, the CEO of Manpower San Diego, said the program — called
“Strategies for Success” — would pay the veterans $15 per hour during
the two-week training to start in January. Then, once they reach
Qualcomm, they would earn $18 to $24 an hour for the temporary
positions.
“Assuming they do well, they get a permanent job at one of the best employers in San Diego,” Blair said.
High veteran unemployment is an issue in America. The unemployment rate
among veterans of post-9/11 wars was 10 percent in October, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. For comparison, the U.S.
unemployment rate was 7.9 percent in October.
“With so many of the fine men and women serving our country in this
military town, we are honored as one of the largest employers in the
region to support their return to civilian life,” Dan Sullivan,
Qualcomm’s executive vice president of human resources, said in a
statement. “Our goal is to provide them the opportunity to gain
experience and sharpen their skill set so they can flourish in the
private sector.”
The Strategies for Success program started eight years ago as a way to
serve the less fortunate, such as teenagers at risk of gang involvement,
and battered women. Blair said it was recently adapted to teach
veterans. Its first class is currently under way, but is not tied to any
employer. The tuition is valued at $2,750, Blair said.
Blair said the military version of the class would teach its students
how to “civilianize” their entire job search. He said many of those
looking for work post-military service don’t have experience in the job
market. Blair recalled a veteran’s resume that listed “sniper” as recent
experience.
Blair said the class would change a veteran’s mindset of being ordered
to do jobs at the request of a commander to a system of networking,
resume writing and applying for employment.
“If you just came in from the military and went to a company like
Qualcomm, you’re going to flounder,” Blair said. “I’m going to have
Manpower civilianize you.”
Veterans interested in applying have through December to send their resumes to
jobs4Veterans@manpower-sd.com. The two-week course begins in January.
“I need them to civilianize their resume as much as they can,” Blair
said. “I realize that’s a difficult challenge, but we have people here
that can read a military resume and go, ‘Ah, this person is good for
this Qualcomm project, and this one’s not.’”
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