GREEN BAY — New North area companies were among those honored recently by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Vets Ready Employer Initiative.
The Vets Ready Initiative encourages employers to establish a support system within their workplace, hire and retain more veterans, and connect with veterans in the community and their families. Businesses are separated into three categories and either receive a gold or silver certification. For 2022, DWD is honoring 10 employers statewide for their achievements in highlighting the importance of veterans in Wisconsin’s workforce.
“Wisconsin’s veterans bring critically important skills to the workforce, and their contributions have helped our economy achieve record-breaking performance this year,” said DWD Secretary-designee Amy Pechacek. “By leveraging the experience and talents of veterans, Wisconsin’s award-winning Vets Ready employers are building a more competitive workforce while creating stronger communities. DWD applauds these efforts.”
“By supporting veterans and their families, these companies are making a difference for Wisconsinites across our state,” said Gov. Tony Evers. “Our Vets Ready award and the recipients’ hard work amplify the value veterans bring to the workforce, and I was glad to recognize and honor these employers, like Rockwell Automation and We Energies, who go above and beyond to support veterans and their families.”
Vets Ready recipients were recognized celebrations held throughout the state, including Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay. The 2022 Vets Ready Winners in the New North are:
- 4IMPRINT, Oshkosh – Gold Award. The company:
- Prioritizes veteran employment opportunities, sending open positions to veteran-specific organizations and other diversity organizations to recruit and attract new talent.
- Offers paid time off that goes above and beyond for veterans and their spouses, including Veterans Day.
- Displays photos of veteran associates and emblems of each military branch throughout their facilities.
- Sets veteran hiring goals, with an annual benchmark of 5.7 percent protected veteran employees.
- Children’s Products, Neenah – Gold Award. The company:
- Uses the resources from the Office of Veteran Employment Services and the Fox Valley Veterans Council to help staff engage with benefits, including education, medical claims, career assistance, and job training.
- Connects all veteran employees with a mentor on their first day of work to support their success and help them get started.
- Partners with local food pantry organizations to help veterans and their families in need of food.
- Kimberly-Clark, Neenah – Gold Award. The company:
- Hosts the SALUTE (Service Alliance Uniting Together) employee resource group whose vision is to make a positive impact on Kimberly-Clark, veteran employees, their families, and the communities they live in.
- Hosts the Capabilities First employee resource group, which directly supports employees and their families with disabilities.
- Supports veteran-community efforts, including sending cards and packages to deployed service members and raising funds for local veteran charities.
- Accepting the award for Kimberly-Clark, Wayne Beyer said of the program, “We’re not done yet…we look forward to the work we have yet to accomplish for veterans.”
- Kingsbury, Oshkosh – Gold Award. The company:
- Prioritizes veteran hiring, as 6.4 percent of the workforce is veterans, and the goal is to raise that level two percent each year.
- Honors veterans through a veteran wall, flag display, and photos of veteran team members and their families.
- Writes and hand-delivers personal letters to veteran staff during Military Appreciation Month.
- MCC Inc., Appleton – Gold Award. The company:
- Strives to support and utilize veteran employees’ leadership in every part of the company.
- Engages with Wisconsin veteran organizations such as veteran nonprofits, DWD, and the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA).
- Posts jobs at Transition Assistance Program (TAP) centers nationwide to attract veteran talent from across the country.
- Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh – Gold Award. The company:
- Employs more than 1,100 veterans.
- Hosts the Oshkosh Corporation Military Network (OCMN), a veteran employee resource group that provides career coaching, mentoring, and an opportunity to connect with service members across the company.
- Uses a mentorship program to support the OCMN and other employee business resource groups.
- Precision Iceblast Corp., Peshtigo – Gold Award. The company:
- Employs a veteran liaison who manages veteran recruiting and serves as the primary point of contact for veteran support in the community.
- Prioritizes veteran hiring initiatives to achieve a steadily increasing veteran workforce.
- Works to match and exceed veteran wages in comparable military service grades.
- Joel Williams, accepting the award for the company, said that while the company initially set up its program focusing on the question, “What can veterans do for us?” the focus has shifted. “Veterans have attributes we found desirable, but as our veteran hiring program took shape, we began to ask a different question: ‘What can we do for our veterans?’”
- Sponsors educational events throughout the year, including events during Armed Forces Week and Veterans Day.
- Provides on-the-job training opportunities through the Academy of Advanced Manufacturing Program. The program works with ManpowerGroup to provide training to 1,000 military veterans over the next 10 years.
Other honorees included WE Energies, Rockwell Automation and Deloitte. Each year DWD’s Office of Veteran Employment Services (OVES) serves more than 1,100 veterans seeking employment in Wisconsin. Once these veterans are ready for employment, OVES seeks employers ready to hire them.
