Late last year, Timken joined the 100,000 Jobs Mission, a coalition of more than 130 companies across the United States with a shared objective to hire 100,000 armed forces veterans by the end of 2020.
Recently, the final tallies for 2013 were reported, with members collectively hiring more than 117,000 veterans, surpassing the coalition’s goal with seven years to spare.
Despite not officially joining the coalition until the fourth quarter, Timken hired 15 new veteran associates by year-end, helping to contribute to the effort and making a commitment to maintain a focus on veteran hiring into the future.
According to Don Walker, senior vice president of human resources and organizational advancement, the commitment to the 100,000 Jobs Mission is ultimately a win-win for the company and for job-seeking veterans.
“Dating to long before we joined the 100,000 jobs mission, we recognized the value of veterans as members of the Timken team,” Walker said. “They typically exhibit exceptional leadership, strong attention to detail and ingrained commitment to ethics and integrity, all of which in turn help make us a stronger company. And on our end, I think we can all agree that it’s important to support those who pledge to serve and protect when their active duty comes to an end.” With the initial goal reached so quickly, the mission has expanded its target, and now hopes partner companies will hire an additional 100,000 veterans by 2020. For Timken, along with the benefits of 2013’s new hires, membership is continuing to show promise as a recruiting tool in 2014 and beyond.
“While we don’t currently have specific hiring numbers for this year, we are certainly seeing increased activity on our Careers website that we can attribute, at least in part, to the 100,000 Jobs Mission,” said Shaun Branon, director of talent acquisition. “It’s a promising sign for us as a company any time we can broaden the depth of our candidate pool, and it’s a great point of pride to be considered a company that veterans can turn to when they’re looking to continue their careers.”
In addition to this initiative, Timken supports the Military Spouse Employment Partnership. "This partnership creates employment connections that provide companies with direct access to military spouses seeking career opportunities," Branon said. "Just as we recognize the skills that veterans bring to our candidate pool, we also consider the spouses in our recruitment efforts."
Timken and other employers signed a partnership agreement during a ceremony at the Pentagon. Click here to watch the YouTube taping; the Timken signing is just past 1 hour and 7 minutes into the ceremony.
Launched in 2011, the 100,000 Jobs Mission brings together companies committed to hiring U.S. military veterans. The 131 companies now involved have pledged to hire 200,000 veterans by 2020. They hired 117,439 veterans by the end of 2013. For more information, visit www.JobsMission.com.
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