Walsingham Group Inc., a federal government contractor that provides Operations, Maintenance and Support (OM&S) for critical infrastructure and government-owned contractor-operated facilities, is helping U.S. military Veterans in North Carolina transition back into civilian life. The company, owned and operated by Veterans, and based out of Fayetteville, is partnering up with three nonprofits to help Veterans land jobs at WGI.
Mark Ring, the human resources manager for the Walsingham Group said the organization partners with a national career transition program — The Honor Foundation — to prepare the resumes and job interview materials of Veterans wanting to integrate into the civilian workforce.
The Honor Foundation is a career transition program for U.S. Special Operations Forces that effectively translates their elite military service to the private sector and helps create the next generation of corporate and community leaders, according to the foundation’s website.
“We provide a clear process for professional development and a diverse ecosystem of world class support and technology,” the website’s description reads. “Every step is dedicated to preparing these outstanding men and women to continue to realize their maximum potential during and after their service career.”
The foundation estimates that there are around 60,000 active duty personnel within the U.S. Special Operations Forces Enterprise. “We have partnered with The Honor Foundation for mock interviews, mock resume scrubs and tied in closely with them, for them to send us resumes for anybody that will potentially fit some of our empty bills when we have them,” Ring said.
Fellows in the foundation’s programs are paired with mentors and executive coaches to help those Veterans find work in the civilian job market. Walsingham Group is one of more than 1,300 employer partners that work with the foundation. The foundation has a campus on Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg. More than 3,700 Veterans have completed the foundation’s program.
The Walsingham Group also partners with The ASCENT Transition Program, which provides transition support to members of specific Air Force units. “This organization is composed of an elite group of combat fighters, combat supporters and combat Veterans who are relentless, dedicated and selfless,” reads a post on the program’s LinkedIn.
“It transitions members of U.S. Air Force Special Operations out of the military,” Ring said. “We work with them also to do hiring nights where we get together, and we’ll just get around and do a social event and just get to meet some of them and get some of their resumes. That happens once a quarter.”
The Walsingham Group also works closely with the Hiring Our Heroes program, an initiative from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Hiring Our Heroes connects the military community — service members, military spouses and Veterans — with American businesses to create economic opportunity and a strong and diversified workforce.
“Whenever it comes to any positions we need, or anybody they think will fit in our organization, we kind of scratch each other's backs there,” Ring said.
Around 74% of the candidates that participate in Hiring Our Heroes’ virtual hiring event are moved to the next step, according to the program’s website.
“Those are the three big programs
we use to kind of take care of Veterans and make sure we’re transitioning the best we can,” Ring said. Ring said that hiring Veterans provides companies with reliable workers.
“Veterans are generally more competent and reliable people when it comes to any jobs you have,” Ring said. “Because we have a military background we want to take care of and want the best people for a job. Generally, Veterans are the best. A lot of our jobs all require military background too. But overall, it boils down to reliability.”
Veterans, Ring said, are reliable, they hold themselves to a higher standard, and are more determined. But transitioning out of the military “can be quite scary,” Ring noted.
“You think that civilians don't know what we’ve been going through,” Ring said. “I think that our program and our company in general, understands that it's not that bad, and you just talk to the people that have been through it and will help you along the way.”
Learn more about Walsingham Group Inc., and open career opportunities on their website: www.wgrp.com/careers.
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