Working with veterans has long been a priority for York Solutions. Our company’s founder and Chairman of the Board, Bill Carr, was a Vietnam veteran, and it’s a core part of our culture and mission to provide meaningful career opportunities for veterans and other underrepresented groups in IT.
We were honored to co-host a roundtable in Chicago on July 10, along with two other companies, Exegestics and the ICATT Apprenticeship Program. Geared toward CEOs, HR professionals, and veteran service organizations, the roundtable focused on the value of developing a workplace initiative to recruit and retain veteran employees.
Moderated by Victor LaGroon, Diversity and Inclusion Veterans Employment Advisor, the event featured two panel sessions with Brandi Will, SVP of Program Development at York Solutions, Stephen Olds, CEO/Founder of Exegistics, and Mario Kratsch, head of the ICATT Apprenticeship Program:
“There have been multiple studies discussing the direct correlation between a diverse team and higher-than-average profits,” said Will. “Veterans can provide an incredibly unique perspective and work experience, and having on them on a team will only be beneficial.”
York Solutions created the Barriers to Entry program (B2E) as a way to help companies fill essential IT roles, while improving company diversity and offering employment to people re-entering the workforce. The B2E program offers paid training to veterans, caregivers, and stay-at-home parents who have the desire and drive to start careers in IT, but not necessarily the opportunity.
Will emphasized that the B2E program sets veterans up for success by helping them translate their skills and experiences in the military into the civilian world.
“When a veteran applies for the B2E program, we don’t require them to submit a resume, since we know quite often, they don’t have one,” she said. “Instead, our team speaks directly with every applicant to truly get a sense of who they are. How do they communicate? Can they talk about their previous experience? For us, we take a close look at the intangible skills – those soft skills that cannot be taught, because we know we can teach the hard skills.”
Veterans have valuable qualities and capabilities that provide long-term benefits to the companies that hire them. York Solutions is proud to assist them in beginning this next phase in their careers.
Learn more about the Barriers to Entry program.