Governor Cuomo Announces National Guard Job Fair for Veterans, Reservists, and Military Families

LongIsland.com

Governor Emphasizes State’s Commitment to Assisting Veterans.

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Albany, NY - March 25, 2014 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced today that the New York National Guard will host a U.S. Chamber of Commerce “Hiring our Heroes” Job Fair on Thursday, March 27 at the Lexington Avenue Armory. More than 130 businesses ranging from Amtrak to Wells Fargo have signed up to be part of the event which starts at 9 a.m. and runs to 1 p.m. The event is designed to help veterans, military spouses and members of the reserve and National Guard find a job.

“New York’s veterans, reservists, and military families have already proven their extraordinary skills, dedication and leadership,” Governor Cuomo said. “Now it’s our responsibility to give them the opportunity to translate those abilities from the front lines to the workforce. Investing in the employment of our veterans and military families will pay dividends as we work to rebuild the Empire State.”

The job fair is one of many veterans job fairs held over the last two years by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The goal of these events is to link veterans up with companies that want the skills and discipline that military veterans bring to the job.

There are more than 192,000 veterans living in New York City, and almost 900,000 veterans statewide. It's estimated that about 88,000 of these veterans have served in Iraq and Afghanistan post 9/11. The unemployment rate for veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan was 9.2 percent in February 2014. This is well above 6.9 percent unemployment rate for non-veterans.

“The Department of Labor is committed to Governor Cuomo’s vision of helping the men and women who served our country find a job,” said State Labor Commissioner Peter M. Rivera. “I encourage any veteran looking for a job to stop by and meet with businesses hiring. If they aren’t able to attend, they should visit their nearest New York State Career Center for one-on-one job search assistance.”

A workshop on resume writing and other job hunting skills will be held at 8 a.m. before the job fair begins. Veterans who want to participate in the resume writing and job-hunting workshop must sign up and veterans interested in meeting with company representatives are encouraged to sign up.

To register for the event go to this website here.

Veterans receive priority of service at the state’s 96 Career Centers. That means those who served our country will always be served first by the next available staff member and will get first priority for jobs and training for which they are eligible. Find your nearest Career Center here.