For Parsons, engagement with the military is a priority, and as the Vice President of our Military and Veterans Affairs Program (MILVET), I am consistently pursuing ways to establish and maintain meaningful relationships with the military community. I recently took our MILVET Program on the road to the Rocky Mountain region which provided an outlet for personal and professional clarity and a renewed vigor to help transitioning servicemembers. Further, this trip provided the opportunity to visit a variety of military installations to engage with servicemembers and establish meaningful connections and partnerships – all with the goal to increase representation, inclusion, and belonging of veterans in the Parsons workforce.
Creating and establishing relationships with the base offices responsible for its Transition Assistance Program, Soldier for Life, Family Readiness, and Education programs (i.e., SkillBridge), is vital to our programs success and has been proven to be mutually beneficial in the following ways:
- Offers the ability to take part in transition classes which provides invaluable insight into the messages servicemembers are provided and identification of new challenges they’re facing to help shape our MILVET program to truly meet the needs of those transitioning from the military to civilian life.
- Allows the opportunity to authentically speak with transitioning servicemembers about what makes a “veteran-ready company” and what to look for and what to expect when navigating a post-military career fit.
Across the entire military spectrum, we show up and invests the time to ensure the military community knows what a “veteran-ready” company will do for maximum engagement of our transitioning military members.
I use the term “veteran-ready” instead of “veteran-friendly” because “veteran-friendly” indicates an established standard of a defined practice finding, recruiting, and hiring veterans. But, here at Parsons, we pride ourselves on challenging the standard. A veteran-ready organization, in contrast, takes veteran programs to the next level. Veteran-ready means we go beyond all the veteran-friendly requisites. We take care of our transitioning military so they can imagine next and feel confident and empowered in their next career opportunity with us.
We have special benefits for the military community like Reserve and Guard activation differential pay and benefit coverage, extra Annual Training coverage, free transition time off when returning from long orders and a team focused on their career mobility upon reintegration. We also have a strong MILVET employee business resource group with executive top cover, VA disability support, special military community mentoring and networking events, and a multitude of volunteer opportunities to help those in underserved military communities.
We can all engage and lean forward to help veterans – from employment preparation, business introduction and even family resiliency – there are many ways to support and give back to military communities. It doesn’t take a roadshow to contribute. With a little research, you can find local non-profits focused on military communities and find ways to engage and support.
As for Parsons, you can always count on more MILVET meet-ups in the future to authentically share our veteran-ready programs and listen to the needs of this unique community to ensure we are consistently adapting and ready to serve transitioning servicemembers – to seek maximum engagement because the military community is worth every roadshow mile.
Get a glimpse of the the inspiring journey in the video below, featuring Chuck during his MILVET roadshow!