Veteran Hiring Discussed at Combined Insurance Roundtable

A local business leader when it comes to hiring Veterans joined 10th District Congressman Robert Dold, R-Kenilworth and others for a Veteran Hiring Summit this week in Glenview.

A roundtable discussion touched on difficulties in finding jobs for Veterans coming home and what’s being done to address those difficulties on Monday at Combined Insurance, which has been recognized for increasing Veteran hires by 38 percent in 2014 and have committed to hire a total of 4,000 employees with military backgrounds by the end of 2016.

Read More: Combined Insurance Hired 38% More Veterans in 2014

“There’s an incredible talent pool with Veterans. Their uniqueness fits nicely with us,” said Brad Bennett, president of Combined Insurance. “We have one of the best training programs in the industry and Vets are very good adult learners. The young men and women yearn to continue in some capacity through a competitive environment.”

Dold, who represents a District that is home to some 33,500 veterans, said Congress has “a tremendous obligation” to do everything possible to help Veterans find jobs when they are home, noting billions have been spent on training.

“Veterans have a tremendous amount of energy and there is a host of different things Vets coming out of the military today can offer an employer,” he said. Some, he said, need to “get around” the stigma that a Veteran could leave and be deployed elsewhere.

“That’s real short sighted when you look at the real benefits and attributes we are looking for in a team,” he said. “Companies should be looking for people who are adapt and can adjust quickly and that’s what Vets do all the time.”

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Ryan Yantis, of the Illinois Department of Veteran Affairs, discussed the Illinois Hires Heroes Consortium, which has a challenge to focus on the veteran as the person, not as an employment agency.

“If a Vet is employed and has a stable place to live, that is ingredients for success,” he said. “If they are homeless, then that is a completely different challenge.”

Melanie Lundberg, Director, Talent Management & Corporate Communications at Combined Insurance, introduced the roundtable that shed light both on helping Vets find meaningful career opportunities and unemployment.

“We are fortunate to have experienced a 7-year low in unemployment, but Post-9/11 Veterans continue to have several points higher of an unemployment rate than non-veterans,” she said.

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Finding more creative ways to find jobs for Vets should be a priority, Dold added.

“We are grateful for our men and women in uniform who keep us safe and free,” he said. “We don’t do as good a job as we should to help leverage their skills and abilities when they get home.”

Art Kandarian, Combined Insurance VP of Sales-Military Markets; Joe Pennington, Combined Insurance Director Military Programs; Scott Lietzow, District Representative for Dold and a Veteran and Matt Heid, Quality Specialist at Abbvie and a Veteran were also part of the discussion.