Cable Offers Career Pathways for Veterans

Veterans Day

In honor of Veterans Day coming up later this week, members of the internet and television community are paying tribute in many ways to the men and women who have made sacrifices for our country. But although Veterans Day is a good time to recognize their contributions, it's also a good time to highlight the initiatives that are out there to help these heroes achieve their next success in life. Cable operators and programmers work year-round to support veterans across the country transition into careers and to utilize the talents and skills that these men and women have to offer. Here's a sampling of the various partnerships and programs available for veterans across the industry:

A+E's staple for Veterans Day every year is its Take a Veteran to School Day, which the HISTORY Channel organizes. The program connects veterans with students, where they get to hear firsthand stories of service and active duty. The network also offers the Sgro Fellowship for Veterans in Media Technology program for veterans with documented military service, allowing them an opportunity to explore a career in media technology with plenty of mentoring and job training support.

Altice USA honors veterans by hosting events in local communities around the country on Veterans Day, often in collaboration with HISTORY Channel’s Take a Veteran to School Day program (see above). Altice also recognizes their veteran employees on their Altice Connects page. Furthermore, they regularly work with HirePurpose, a career site for transitioning service members and military spouses.

At Charter, veterans make up over 12 percent of the workforce. The company offers an array of resources and partnerships to help veterans become successful at their jobs, including one of its trademark programs, the Broadband Technician Apprenticeship Program, which provides on-the-job training and classroom instruction over four years for field technicians, and state and national certification as well. Charter also offers management training and hands-on experience for transitioning service members through its Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program. Numerous other programs at Charter provide career support for military spouses, and the company offers dedicated career sites for veterans as well.

Since 2010, Comcast NBCUniversal has hired more than 13,000 members of the military community, and its participation in veteran recruitment and retention programs like Hiring Our Heroes, Veteran Job Mission and HirePurpose have a lot to do with its success in providing successful career pathways for veterans. The company is also the presenting sponsor of PsychArmor Institute's Employer School, which provides insight to companies on how to launch a military community recruitment program. But in addition to its dedication to hiring veterans, Comcast NBCUniversal offers an online portal that gives veterans access to small-business development tools, an internal veterans resource group that provides mentorship and professional development opportunities, and 15 days of paid annual leave for employees who are reservists and National Guard members with training obligations to fulfill. The company also makes it a priority to provide financial and job transfer assistance to an employee whose spouse is transferred to active military duty in a different location.

Cox partners with RecruitMilitary, a career website that connects employers with veterans. But beyond that, the ISP offers training for recruiters to better support transitions into civilian careers, on-base military recruitment and mentoring initiatives such as resume writing assistance and mock-interview opportunities, and a new veterans’ employee resource group that they are currently working to build out.

Discovery Communications has a long list of offerings dedicated to veterans. On the recruitment side, the company participates in various hiring events and career fairs, job placement initiatives and outreach programs, some of which focus on women and veterans with disabilities. Its "Discover Your Skills" initiative provides resources and programs to help veterans locate and access training and resources to translate military skills and experience into civilian job opportunities. "Veteran Humans of Discovery" profiles the complimentary nature of several employees’ military experience and Discovery career tracks on Discovery Careers social media platforms. The Discovery Veterans Association also commemorates their veterans by celebrating the birthdays of different branches of the military through activities such as cake-cutting ceremonies, social media sharing, and donation drives.

Disney has hired more than 8,000 veterans since its launch of Heroes Work Here in 2012, a program aimed at hiring veterans and providing support for them and their families during their transition to civilian life. The network also created the Disney Veterans Institute which offers day-long workshops to teach other companies how to create or enhance their existing veteran hiring programs.

GCI is known for its participation in the Solider for Life Transition Assistance Program and Executive Transition Assistance Program, which help military members better transition to civilian life. Resume assistance and counseling for soldiers and airmen is part of the program. As the largest ISP in Alaska, GCI also regularly participates in job fairs for veterans to recruit talent across the state.

Mediacom's workforce is comprised of hundreds of veterans, and the ISP proudly showcases its veteran employees on its website. The company offers transition help to veterans considering jobs in the industry, and also participates in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hiring our Heroes Job Fair Events.

Viacom’s Spike TV’s biggest veteran’s initiative is its Hire A Vet program, composed of videos that aim to raise awareness of veterans as a valuable talent pool for potential employers. Spike also features a website offering a wide range of resources to both veterans seeking civilian employment, and to potential employers.