Job fair offers opportunities to veterans, service members; STGnews Videocast

ST. GEORGE — Job opportunities for veterans and current service members were made available at the fourth annual Hero 2 Hired Job Fair Thursday at the Dixie Center St. George.

The Veterans Employment Collision organized the event, which included approximately 30 employers as well as about 12 service providers available to help veterans and service members to transition back into the civilian world and use their skills from the military in a regular job, Employers Support of the Guard Reserve Transitions Assistance Advisor Bart Davis said.


 To watch videocast, click the play arrow  play-arrow  in the center of the image top of the story


We’ve averaged over 200 job seekers each of the last three years,” Davis said. “From each of those, over 70 resumés have been accepted and, of course, many careers have launched as a result of this event.”

Some employers present at the fair included Wal-Mart, Upper Limit Aviation, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and Amangari Luxury Resort.

Upper Limit Aviation, a flight school based out of Salt Lake City, has a branch in Cedar City and is working with Southern Utah University to provide an aviation program to students. Upper Limit representatives were present to hire veterans who have aircraft maintenance licenses to work on the company helicopters and fixed-wing airplanes.

“If they have their A&P license they can work in civilian sector of aviation,” said Jared Britt, maintenance manager at the Cedar City Branch of Upper Limit Aviation.

By veterans coming to the job fair and learning about Upper Limit Aviation, it gives them the opportunity to see that the skills they developed in the military can be used in the civilian world of aviation, he said.

Wal-Mart Human Resource Manager Robert Vega said there are many opportunities for veterans to work for the company.

“My dad works for Wal-Mart and he is a Vietnam veteran,” Vega said. “Wal-Mart takes care of their associates and great care of veterans that work for them so this would be a great company for people to work for if they are a vet.”

Amangiri Luxury Resort, which is located near Page, Arizona, was represented at the job fair by human resources manager Alicia Robertson. Robertson said working in hospitality management field is a great opportunity for veterans.

“(Veterans) are very dedicated, very hard workers,” Robertson said. “They’ve got a lot of heart and that’s what they look for.”

U.S. Marine Veteran Brian Brannon, who attended the job fair last year, said he noticed the event has grown with more booths to explore.

“I like the fair because it gives me an idea of what kind of jobs are out there for veterans like me and helps send us in the right direction after coming out of the service.”

Service providers including the Department of Workforce Services, the American Red Cross, and the United States Veterans Affairs were among those with booths set up at the fair to help veterans receive any additional need to get back into civilian life.

As a vocational rehabilitation counselor for the VA, Nancy Tafoya said, she helps disabled veterans transition into the workplace with the interests they have.

“We can help with training or employment sevices,” Tafoya said. “We work really closely with the universities in the area and also the technical colleges.”

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