Business View Magazine September 2018

10 11 OPENING LINES WAL-MART HIRES MORE THAN 206,000 U.S. MILITARY VETERANS AND PROMOTES MORE THAN 30,000 SINCE THE LAUNCH OF THE VETERANS WELCOME HOME COMMITMENT W al-Mart announced, recently, that the company has hired more than 206,000 veterans and promoted more than 30,000 to roles with higher pay and greater responsibility since launching its Veterans Welcome Home Commitment in May 2013. The commitment guarantees a job offer to any eligible, honorably discharged U.S. veteran who has separated from service since the commitment was announced on Memorial Day 2013.Wal-Mart is now more than 80 percent of the way to reaching its goal to hire 250,000 veterans by 2020. Approximately 1,300 veterans and their families return to civilian life every day, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Veterans possess important skills and leadership abilities that make them highly sought-after job candidates. The Veterans Welcome Home Commitment helps veterans find career opportunities at Wal-Mart and aims to ease the sometimes-difficult transition from active duty to civilian life. “As we approach the Labor Day holiday, I’m reminded that work is a beautiful thing, and for tran- sitioning veterans, finding that sense of purpose is often lost after separation from service,” said retired Brig. Gen. Gary Profit, Senior Director of Military Programs at Wal-Mart.“Veterans shouldn’t have to worry about finding employment, so Wal-Mart is here to help service members figure out their new path through civilian life and, for many, start their careers as we’ve seen with the 30,000 promoted since the launch of the Commitment.” In May 2013,Wal-Mart introduced the Veterans Welcome Home Commitment with an initial goal to hire 100,000 veterans by the end of 2018. In May 2015,Wal-Mart revised its goal to hire 250,000 veterans, including veterans hired within the Welcome Home Commitment as well as other veterans hired by Wal-Mart, by the end of 2020.Wal-Mart also changed the eligibility under the Welcome Home Commitment from within 12 months of active duty, to any veteran who has been honorably discharged since the announcement of the commitment in May 2013. Wal-Mart’s military programs not only focus on transitioning veterans, but also those currently serving and military spouses. The Military Family Promise guarantees a job at a nearby store or club for all military personnel and military spouses employed by the company who move to a dif- ferent part of the country because they or their spouse have been transferred by the U.S. military. The policy allows service members and military spouses to remain in the same personnel and pay systems and gives them the opportunity to turn jobs into careers. To strengthen support of veterans as they reintegrate into their local communities,Wal-Mart and the Wal-Mart Foundation committed to investing $20 million over five years beginning in 2011, in job training, education and innovative public/private community-based initiatives. After fulfilling the $20 million commitment early in 2015, they announced an additional $20 million investment.While Wal-Mart and the Wal-Mart Foundation have completed the $40 million com- mitment, they continue to make investments that strengthen systems and communities to help our military, veterans and their families navigate the wide array of resources available to them at all stages of their service journey.