For more than a decade now, young military veterans have been returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and re-entering the civilian workforce. For veterans, this means a flurry of job fairs, interviews, extra schooling for some, and a re-orientation of career goals.
For employers, this often means sifting through military jargon on a resume or perhaps making hard decisions about accommodating veterans with PTSD or other war-related injuries.
In January 2013, the Post-9/11 veterans’ unemployment rate made a frightening leap from 9.9 percent to 11.7 percent, well above the 7.9 percent national average. For young female veterans, this number is a disheartening 17.1 percent. Many employers want to support the troops, but they don’t know how. In the service industry, contractors face the same dilemma.
Read the full The ACHR News story featuring Aire Serv on veteran hiring!
Aire Serv® heating and air conditioning franchise has been a leader in veteran entrepreneurship and veteran hiring in recent years, named a “Top 10 Franchises for Veterans” by Entrepreneur magazine and a Military Friendly Franchise by G.I. Jobs in 2012. In the past year alone, eight new veterans opened and Aire Serv franchise, and 38% of its existing franchisees hired a veteran. In the past 10 years, Aire Serv has helped approximately 70 military veterans open an Aire Serv franchise– and many of those have gone on to hire fellow veterans as employees.
Dusty Rhoades, owner of Aire Serv of Weld County in Greeley, Colo., is among these. In a January 2013 interview with The ACHR News, Rhoades shares the lessons he learned from his time in the military and why he chooses now to recruit veterans and currently has two on his payroll. For many contractors, the discipline, respect, and professional demeanor that most veterans possess is attractive.
On New Year’s Day, Congress passed a bill that benefits both veterans and employers by extending a tax credit for hiring veterans through the end of 2013. Employers can receive a tax credit of up to $9,600 this year for hiring certain categories of veterans.
Resources for HVAC businesses looking to hire veterans:
Monster.com Veteran Employment Resources