Earlier this week, hundreds of military veterans from across the country participated in a virtual job fair hosted by Mission Media, the cable industry’s consortium dedicated to veteran recruitment and retention.
Mission Media, which is managed by Content & Connectivity Human Resources (formerly known in the industry as CTHRA), is an initiative that launched four years ago, and is comprised of MSOs, programmers, industry suppliers, and industry professionals and trade associations, including NCTA. The group is essentially a collective effort to offer the necessary training, resources, and support that would enable veterans to thrive in the workplace. The initiative, which was developed by the industry’s Veterans Advisory Council, is also unique in that it brings the entire internet and television community together to drive retention and recruitment around this particular demographic.
“Mission Media is there to support not just veterans, but also all the cable companies along this route,” explained David Pierce, NCTA Vice President of Public Affairs.
Cable companies who hosted “booths” during the job fair included Comcast, Charter, Cox, Mediacom, Vyve, ESPN, Midco, and NBCUniversal. The half-day event allowed job seekers to “chat” with recruiters, share resumes, and hear about vacancies and opportunities across the industry. Mission Media partnered with Veteran Recruiting, a company with extensive experience working with veterans and in conducting online recruiting events, to train participating companies on how to best market the job fair to them and to customize each booth according to the interactions and experiences each company was looking to offer attendees.
Cable operators and programmers, including Charter, Comcast, Cox, Mediacom, GCI, Discovery, Disney, Viacom, and A&E, to name a few, offer an array of programs and resources that help veterans to expand their skillsets. These programs often require training for industry employees that best prepare them to be able to assist veterans in their transition from military to civic life, and to provide the necessary mentorship and professional development that puts them on the right path to career success.
The industry also stands to benefit greatly from the experiences and work ethic that veterans would bring into the business, noted Pierce. “We as an industry are very diverse, and we have diverse jobs we are trying to fill,” he said. “Veterans are not monolithic. They have a set of distinct attributes, which is a part of why businesses seek them out. They are team players, they have highly developed leadership skills, and they are self sacrificing. All of these are desirable qualities in job candidates.”
Pierce added that the group hopes to continue to further expand access to the many dynamic career options available across the industry, while at the same time giving cable companies access to a pool of these highly talented individuals eager to make strong contributions to their teams. “The goal is to create more pathways to recruit veterans,” said Pierce.
For more information on Mission Media, visit missionmedia.org/.
