On Monday, First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled the new Information Technology Training and Certification Partnership. The program is designed to support returning military service members by offering training for industry-recognized IT certification. At the unveiling, Mrs. Obama said, "This new partnership will provide up to 161,000 service members with the chance to gain the certifications they need for 12 different high-demand, high-paying technology careers ... from IT security analysts to computer programmers to quality assurance engineers."
This program couldn’t have come at a better time. As more than 1 million service men and women return to civilian life, delivering training and support will help make the challenging transition easier for both service members and their families. Fortunately, this new program isn’t the only jobs initiative in the technology space supporting military families. In partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Cable & Telecommunications Human Resources Association (CTHRA), NCTA is hosting “Hiring our Heroes,” a veteran’s job fair at this year’s The Cable Show in Washington, DC. The event will be held on Tuesday, June 11th from 9:30am to 1:30pm at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. At the event, military veterans, reservists, guardsmen, and their spouses will join human resources specialists from all segments of the cable industry and help reach “Hiring our Heroes” goal of finding jobs for 500,000 veterans by 2014.
Ahead of “Hiring our Heroes,” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will conduct veteran outreach, register participants and conduct workshops on key skills like interviewing technique and resume writing and CTHRA will use its HR specialists to reach out to member companies to secure job listings, staff job tables, and conduct on-site interviews. With operations and presence in thousands of communities throughout the U.S., the cable industry is proud to offer a wide range of career opportunities for veterans involving cutting-edge media and communications services that touch the lives of millions every day.
The mission of “Hiring our Heroes” was echoed by President Obama when he said to members of four roundtables who helped launch Monday’s event, “We’re here today…not just for our veterans and our military families, but for our economy and for the future of our country.”
To learn more about the “Hiring our Heroes” event in June, see NCTA’s announcement here. And to register as a job fair attendee, please visit www.hiringourheroes.org.