The Allegheny Conference on Community Development launched a job search website Monday designed to connect veterans with energy and manufacturing opportunities in the region.
The Service to Opportunity initiative, which is free for veterans and employers, allows vets to upload their resumes and helps connect them with career opportunities based on their individual skill set.
Laura Fisher, senior vice president of special projects at the Allegheny Conference, said the website lists entry level positions, as well as management opportunities, broken down by occupation.
“There are assessments and surveys related to each of the 17 occupations to help you determine if you are a good fit for these opportunities,” she said. “And they’re not going to be for everyone, but if they are, it means you’re likely to be able to not only get a good job, but to do something you really enjoy doing.”
Fisher said the website was inspired by the difficulties veterans face when trying relay their military experience in a resume.
“This is really a way of helping a veteran articulate in civilian language those things that he or she can bring to the workplace that are really hitting what the employer is looking for,” she said.
In the 10-county Pittsburgh region, there are roughly 19,000 unemployed veterans, with another 16,000 expected to come to the area within the next 5 years, according to Fisher.
She expects about 4,000 jobs to be posted on the website per month. So far, 30 employers have agreed to register, including Comcast, GE, Mitsubishi and U.S. Steel.
“What registering on the site will allow an employer to do, beyond the fact that we’re already posting their jobs, it will allow them to reach into the site and directly communicate with interested veterans in their job,” she said.
The website will also aggregate job postings from smaller, local companies within the energy and manufacturing industries.
STO is funded by Chevron Corporation through the Appalachia Partnership Initiative and the Colcom Foundation.
