JBSA-FORT SAM HOUSTON –
Military and community leaders joined the Texas Workforce Commission and the Texas Veterans Commission as they celebrated the San Antonio launch of the "Texas Wide Open for Veterans" website Jan. 14 at Alamo College.
The website, located at https://www.texaswideopenforveterans.com, is a tool for current and future military veterans to find jobs in Texas.
"The TVC is proud of its partnership with TWC and the Texas Veterans Commission to make Texas 'wide open for veterans,'" said Elisio Cantu, commissioner of the Texas Veterans Commission. "This site highlights all of the unique employment opportunities in the state of Texas."
Maj. Gen. Simeon Trombitas, deputy commanding general of U.S. Army North (Fifth Army), said veterans had a lot to offer Texas businesses.
"When you take an 18 year old, train him and send him to a place like Iraq or Afghanistan, where he is in a situation where he makes life or death decisions, he has learned the responsibility, resiliency, loyalty and leadership he can bring to the civilian sector," Trombitas said.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert LaBrutta, commander, 502nd Air Base Wing and Joint Base San Antonio, agreed with Trombitas and added that the skill and knowledge service members gain will translate almost perfectly into the civilian sector.
Hope Andrade, commissioner for the Texas Workforce Commission, highlighted how the site will help transitioning veterans find jobs in Texas.
"We wanted to make sure our website had a personal connection," Andrade said. "A veteran or an employer can go on our website and fill out our form and they will receive a call or email from someone in the workforce system within one business day."
Andrade also highlighted the social media component of the site.
"It will allow our veterans to stay up to date with the latest hiring fairs throughout the state, and connect directly with employers," she said. "It also has interactive tools to find available jobs in Texas through the Texas Work Force Commission's online job matching site, and explore Texas through an interactive state match."
The launch of the site is also supported by many Texas businesses because it helps them hire veterans.
"Hiring veterans is good for business," said John DiPiero, an Air Force veteran who works at USAA.
Many businesses are hiring veterans because of the skill set they bring to the table.
"Veterans are highly skilled, experienced, they have an excellent work ethic, they're team players and they are structured and come to work on time," said Mario Lozoya, director of government relations and external affairs for Toyota Motor Manufacturing. "That is a big deal for an employer."
Lozoya added that the intangible assets - corps values, honor responsibility and accountability that veterans have - were also important to civilian employers. "It helps maintain the integrity of our work force."
For more information, visit https://www.texaswideopenforveterans.com/.