Veterans Bring Experience, Dedication to Workforce
Douglas J. Guth
Originally published on Crain's Cleveland Business
In 2012, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. made a commitment to hire 1,000 U.S. military veterans over the course of three years. The tiremaker reached its goal a year early, and since then has worked to put additional vets on the payroll. Goodyear’s percentage of veterans in its U.S. workforce (6.7%) outpaces the annual national average by nearly a point, an effort reflected among other local companies seeking to hire a talented if sometimes underappreciated demographic.
Through veteran recruitment, Northeast Ohio businesses are bridging a civilian-military divide that persists in today’s workforce. A 2016 study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes initiative reported that while veterans are top recruiting targets, employers don’t always understand the difficulty of transitioning from a rigid military environment back to civilian life.
