As of July 1, I am excited to officially transition into my new role as Senior Director of Military Affairs. In this role, I’ll serve the Charleston metro military community and transform the relationship between the Chamber, the military community and defense industry partners.

In this role, which is new to the Chamber, I’ll focus on four key areas that include:

• Mission Readiness & Active Duty Personnel Support
• Veteran Support
• Veteran Employment
• Veteran-Owned Business Support

In support of our Veteran Employment initiatives, I wanted to share with you the South Carolina Department of Veterans’ Affairs (SC DVA) Veteran’s Hiring Toolkit.

The United States military relies on the Armed Forces to safeguard the nation. When these dedicated individuals complete their military service, many of them aspire to transition into civilian careers. To facilitate this transition, the SC DVA has crafted this toolkit specifically for you, the hiring managers. It is designed to guide you in successfully recruiting veterans, with a particular focus on translating their military experience into equivalent civilian experience.

For purposes of this toolkit, a “veteran” is a person who served in the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty for reasons other than training and was discharged under honorable conditions.

Topics covered in this toolkit include:  

• General information concerning hiring veterans.  
• Benefits of hiring veterans.  
• Guidance and resources for translating military experience into the civilian workforce.

SC DVA recognizes this challenge for hiring managers. To address these concerns, this toolkit was created to provide the guidance and resources needed to translate military experience confidently and maximize veterans’ recruitment potential.

For additional assistance, please get in touch with the South Carolina Department of Veterans’ Affairs at 803.734.0200 or visit their website at scdva.sc.gov.