A nonprofit organization aims to make North Carolina the number one state for military employment, and is holding multiple events this year to achieve its goal.
North Carolina for Military Employment (NC4ME) was launched by a former North Carolina governor in 2015 in an effort to support the large amount of veterans — nearly 10% of its population according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — residing in the state. With partners including the N.C. Department of Commerce, N.C. Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, USO of N.C., N.C. National Guard and several leading NC companies; NC4ME brings the state’s best public and private employment resources onto the same team to provide an “easy button” for connecting with employers with qualified military talent.
The public-private partnership’s strategy is simple, yet powerful: show business leaders the value of hiring military candidates, train human resource professionals how to find and hire military, and connect employers with qualified military talent.
“We continuously work toward our goal to connect all of our men and women in uniform and their families across North Carolina with meaningful employment opportunities,” said Kimberly Williams, executive director of NC4ME.
The organization will hold eight Hiring Events in 2020 including one near Fort Bragg for military spouses in February and one near Camp Lejeune in August. Unlike a typical job fair, Hiring Events enable participants to interview for open jobs on the spot by pre-matching candidates with employers based on their skills and experience.
“NC4ME Hiring Events connect employers with military candidates who have the technical and soft skills that businesses are recruiting for. At the same time, these events get candidates past the online application and train them how best to show employers the skills that they bring to the table,” Williams said.
The Fayetteville event will have a special focus on hiring military spouses. Leveraging the power of local initiatives, the Fayetteville GROW event will provide a platform for military spouses to improve their local network, turning new connections into employment opportunities. This event is held in partnership with Hiring our Heroes.
“Our public and private partners continue to demonstrate a staunch commitment to helping veterans and military spouses become contributors to our local economy,” Williams said. “With their generous support, we’re able to bring career development opportunities, like our Hiring Event, into communities across North Carolina.”
Visit NC4ME to learn more about upcoming events.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was updated on Feb. 11, 2020 to reflect new information.
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