Many have likened the coronavirus pandemic to war, for a good reason. On the battlefield, military units with the agility to “improvise, adapt, and overcome” put the odds in their favor. For businesses attempting to succeed in the COVID-19 theater, the ones that pivot the quickest will emerge in the best position.
Veterans spend their formative years learning how to excel in challenging and dynamic environments. Let them help you win this war.
Veterans comprise one of the most capable and resilient talent pools in the nation. Before military training even begins, our all-volunteer force is filled with high-quality recruits. Approximately 66% of high school graduates enroll in college, whereas only 29% even meet the standards for entry into military service. Indeed, many people are unaware that it’s statistically harder to get into the military than into most undergraduate institutions.
During their years of military service, veterans learn to work effectively in diverse teams while accomplishing difficult missions under stressful conditions. They gain valuable hard and soft skills in a culture that encourages initiative, believes in accountability, and develops some of the finest leaders in the world.
Navy veteran Bill Berrien provides a great example of these skills in action. Berrien leads Pindel Global Precision, a Wisconsin-based manufacturing company. Last month, Berrien and his team retooled their operation to supply ventilator components to four separate manufacturers, quickly adapting to a new line of business created by the COVID-19 outbreak. Pindel Global Precision is playing a critical role in this war while also positioning itself for continued success in the marketplace.
I took advantage of leadership like Berrien’s during my decades of personal experience in the private sector. It reinforced my belief in the extraordinary value of veterans. I now lead the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service at the U.S. Department of Labor, and it is our vision for all veterans to reach their full potential in the workforce. Achieving this vision not only helps veterans, their families, and the organizations they serve, but it is also good for the nation’s prosperity and security.
At the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, our highest priority is getting the transition right when service members leave the military. The coronavirus has not changed this priority — if anything, it makes the priority more urgent. Last year, as part of the interagency Transition Assistance Program, our agency provided in-person transition assistance to 172,000 service members.
Since this year’s outbreak, we have migrated the vast majority of transition assistance to virtual platforms and have made similar adjustments to the entire portfolio of our agency’s services. We continue to serve those who served and are positioning to support the recovery.
Before the coronavirus crisis, the contribution of veterans to the American economy reached a historic milestone. Unemployment among veterans fell to 3.1% in 2019, the lowest annual veteran unemployment rate since 2000. Unfortunately, there are more than 1 million newly unemployed veterans as a result of necessary COVID-19 countermeasures.
Although most of the unemployed veterans will return to work once the “all clear” has been sounded, some will not. There will also be legions of transitioning service members who will be discharged into an economy that remains on partial hold because of COVID-19. These unemployed, as well as the many underemployed veterans, comprise a critical resource to enable the great American recovery. I encourage any organization seeking increased agility and resilience to hire from this extraordinary talent pool.
John Lowry is the assistant secretary of labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training Service. He has held a number of manufacturing leadership roles in the private sector and served in the Marine Corps.
