Cable’s Industry-Wide Initiative to Support Veterans Year-Round

mission media

One year ago, Mission Media made its debut in the cable industry to support the career and personal development of military veterans across the internet and television arena. As a proud member of Mission Media, NCTA is just one of many organizations that are part of the collective effort to not only recruit veterans to the industry, but to provide them with the training and supportive work environments that they need to thrive. Managed by the Cable and Telecommunications Human Resources Association (CTHRA), the Mission Media initiative stemmed from the Veterans Advisory Council, chaired by NCTA President & CEO Michael Powell and represented by MSOs, programmers, industry suppliers, and industry professionals and trade associations.

Since the one-year anniversary of its beginning, there are quite a few accomplishments and future endeavors to celebrate as Mission Media begins to leave its mark on the industry. In the past year an industry survey was distributed to MSOs and programmers and gathered data on veteran hiring in the industry, which will serve the Council well for future industry benchmarking purposes and the development of resources for moving forward with hiring and training veterans. And this past summer, together with The Walt Disney Company, Mission Media put on the Veterans Institute: Heroes Work Here Workshop. The one-day program was held in Washington, D.C., and attended by human resources professionals from cable, media and entertainment companies, where they learned strategies to target, recruit, engage, develop and retain veterans.

Coming later in the year, the Mission Media website plans to unveil a best practices section for key veteran hiring, as well as to launch a virtual job fair portal to help connect veterans with industry companies looking to hire. Then on November 2, the Council will conduct a session on Veteran Wellness at CTHRA’s HR Symposium in Philadelphia. Under consideration is also the creation of a Fellows Program to introduce veterans into the industry and a Mentorship Program for veterans employed in the industry. “In the longer term, we’re designing some possible national programs that will offer individual veterans educational and recognition opportunities within our industry,” said CTHRA Executive Director Pamela Williams.

Mission Media is the only initiative that brings together an entire industry to support the hiring and well-being of veterans. As we prepare for Diversity Week next week, there’s no better time to honor veterans and the invaluable skills they’ve gained throughout their experiences serving our country and ones they can add and build upon in the cable and entertainment world. Williams said it best when she recently explained that veterans need help in transitioning from military to civilian careers in order for the cable business to be able to tap into their tremendous capabilities and talent. “Mission Media is working to help change that for our industry, by offering insights and skills for hiring managers, and reminding executives that we can and should tap into this wonderful market of successful individuals,” she said.