Ducey Reveals Plan To Get More Veterans Working For The State

PHOENIX, AZ —Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday launched a new initiative called AZHiresVets!, which is designed to nearly double the number of military veterans working in the state workforce by 2025.

According to a release, the Governor's Office is working on the project with the Arizona Coalition for Military Families and the Arizona Departments of Administration, Veterans' Services and Economic Security.

The goal of the initiative is to increase the percentage of veterans in the state's workforce from the current 8.5 percent to 15 percent in 2025.

"Arizona has a message for the men and women who've served our country in uniform — we value your experience, we value your skills and we want you to come work for our state," Ducey said. "The State of Arizona currently employs about 3,200 veterans. We want to double that number and bring more of these patriots into public service."

One of the goals of the project is to connect job-seeking veterans with state agency recruiters and hiring managers, and the Governor's Office announced two upcoming hiring events in Phoenix —on March 30 and April 28. Registration for these events will open in the first week of March.

The project aligns with comments made by Ducey during his Jan. 10 State of the State address, when he spoke about value of a veteran workforce.

"We are blessed to be a magnet for America's veterans," Ducey said in the speech. "They represent the best of our country, and as any hiring manager will tell you: veterans are among their most prized and productive employees. We celebrate our veterans and want more of them in the state of Arizona."

Emily Rajakovich, Arizona's human resources director, echoed some of those sentiments Tuesday when she said veterans make great employees because they embody a "service before self" spirit, and often are disciplined, fearless and have a strong work ethic.

"Veterans are in such high demand in today's highly competitive job market," Rajakovich said. "Veterans selflessly and willingly chose to dedicate themselves to serving our country. As natural leaders and problem solvers, these are exactly the kind of men and women we want to join the state's ranks."

More information about the available job opportunities with the State of Arizona can be found on the AZStateJobs website. The website also will include information about upcoming hiring events.