Companies Say Hiring Veterans is Good Business, CNAS Experts Report

Companies Say Hiring Veterans is Good Business, CNAS Experts Report

Washington, June 11, 2012 — Hiring veterans is good for business, according to a detailed study released today by two experts at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).  In Employing America's Veterans: Perspectives from Businesses, Dr. Margaret C. Harrell, CNAS' Director of the Military, Veterans and Society Program, and Non-Resident Senior Fellow Nancy Berglass convey their findings based on extensive interviews of 87 representatives from 69 companies. The authors report that the companies articulated 10 reasons for hiring veterans, including leadership and teamwork skills, character, structure and discipline, expertise, effectiveness, and loyalty.

But, they note, businesses also raised some challenges associated with hiring veterans, such as translating how skills learned in the military are useful in the civilian workplace, negative stereotypes and concerns about future deployments. 


Download Employing America's Veterans: Perspectives from Businesses.

Harrell and Berglass make specific recommendations for how government, businesses, nonprofit organizations and individual veterans can better address veteran employment.  They suggest that the employment of veterans would improve if:

  • Employers recognize and act on the business case for hiring veterans;
  • Federal law is revised to more effectively protect service members, veterans and employers;
  • Government agencies build more quality public-private partnerships to increase veteran employment; and
  • The military to civilian transition process is improved.

Report co-author Harrell will also discuss this report at the CNAS annual conference on Wednesday, June 13 during a session on Reintegrating Veterans into Their Communities. Learn more about the conference and register here . The conference will also be webcast live starting at 8:45 a.m. EDT on June 13.

Stay up to date on all CNAS news and events by following @CNASdc on Twitter and visiting us on Facebook. Employing America's Veterans is also available online here in e-reader and Kindle format.

For all press inquiries, contact Deputy Director of External Relations Sara Conneighton at (202) 457-9429 or sconneighton@cnas.org.

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The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is an independent and nonpartisan research institution that develops strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies. CNAS leads efforts to help inform and prepare the national security leaders of today and tomorrow.

Press Contacts:

Kay King
Director of External Relations
and Senior Advisor
Email: kking@cnas.org
Ph: (202) 457-9408

Sara Conneighton
Deputy Director of External Relations
Email: sconneighton@cnas.org
Ph: (202) 457-9429