By Kathy L. Collins
In today’s business environment, businesses need qualified IT talent. Highly trained military personnel are returning to civilian life and are in need of jobs. This combination of needs has given rise to the first ever Veterans Internship and Job Fair set for Tuesday, September 10 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the USF Marshall Student Center located at 4103 Cedar Dr. in Tampa.
The event will be co-sponsored by USF Office of Veterans Affairs and Grow Tampa Bay Tech, the talent development initiative of Tampa Bay Technology Forum. It will focus on technology. Veterans from educational programs throughout the Tampa Bay region will be invited to participate. Registration for Veterans will open in mid-August and will appear on the TBTF.org Events webpage. Businesses in need of qualified and highly talented workers can buy a booth. Both Veterans and businesses can go to www.tbtf.org to register.
“While conducting the Tampa Bay Information Technology Workforce Analysis, it was found that area businesses are interested in hiring Veterans,” said Patricia Gehant, M.A., CCIO, Director of Workforce Initiative TBTF.
According to Gehant, the above study showed “Military veterans have been identified as a source of talent because of their training, professionalism, commitment and ability to work under pressure and changing conditions. In the Tampa Bay area, there are a number of initiatives underway to encourage military veterans and their spouses to join the local workforce. Non-commissioned officer training is accepted by some businesses to meet the college requirement for certain occupations. Some colleges will award academic credit for military experience on a case by case basis. The level of training and experience of the officer ranks and non-commissioned officer is perceived by many businesses as exceptional training for men and women so early in their careers.”
There are a lot of bright, creative, technology focused veterans at local colleges and universities, colleges and trade schools, and this Veterans Internship and Job Fair is a way of bringing them together with businesses who have internships and job openings.
For more information, please visit www.TBTF.org or call 341-8283.
