Maine Hire-A-Vet annual campaign kicks off with Augusta hiring fair
Over 200 businesses are participating in a veterans hiring fair that begins Thursday in Augusta, marking the start of the annual Hire-A-Vet Campaign. Organizers hope to see 100 veterans hired in 100 days by 100 Maine civil-sector employers.
The hiring fair, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m, is just the start. A series of weekly educational programs — some aimed at veterans, others for employers — will be held online from Aug. 23 through Nov. 22.
Events include a resume-building presentation on how to translate military skills into civilian workforce lingo, a seminar on public service student loan forgiveness and a look at resources for veterans experiencing homelessness. Registration and further information for all events can be found here.
Four virtual hiring fairs will also be held throughout the campaign, on Sept. 15, Oct. 13, Nov. 17 and Dec. 1.
The hiring event and related campaign activities have been held annually since 2015 to help connect former military members with Maine businesses in need of employees. Nearly 1,700 veterans have been hired through the program in that time, according to Lindsay Crete, a spokesperson for Gov. Janet Mills, who helped kick off the event Thursday morning at the Augusta Civic Center.
“I worked in the civilian sector for a long time after serving in the military, and it took me a while to realize that I was missing my sense of self and sense of purpose,” said Leo Deon, campaign coordinator and veterans employment representative with the Maine Department of Labor, in a YouTube video kicking off this year’s campaign.
During last year’s Hire-A-Vet campaign, which was also a hybrid event with both virtual and in-person activities, 217 veterans were hired by 166 companies. The event went completely online in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sponsors of this year’s event include Bath Iron Works and MaineGeneral Health, as well as multiple state agencies.
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