At the recent Annual Salute to Veterans, U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez urged employers to recruit and hire transitioning service members and veterans because they possess "essential skills that companies are looking for: leadership, problem-solving and teamwork." The event is held by the Department of Labor to honor the sacrifices of our nation's veterans and in observance of Veterans Day.

Perez said the same fortitude and resilience service members and veterans have exhibited in the military can be brought successfully to bear in civilian work; and businesses recruit and hire veterans "because they know it's as sound a business decision as they can make." Veterans receive priority of service — including career counseling and job placement — at nearly 2,600 American Job Centers nationwide. 

Keith Kelly, the assistant Secretary of Labor who heads the Veterans' Employment and Training Service and a Vietnam War veteran also spoke on behalf of the Department.  

Following remarks from Perez and Kelly, panelists engaged in a roundtable discussion on the department's educational and training programs available for transitioning service members and the critical role that public-private partnerships play in assisting veterans. Panelist included: Sergeant Dakota Meyer, recipient of the Medal of Honor; Eric Eversole, executive director of Hiring Our Heroes at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation; Jose Serans, veteran and graduate of the Veterans In Piping apprenticeship, a high-quality skills training program in the pipe trades for service members and veterans run by the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States, Canada and Australia; and Terry Gerton, deputy assistant secretary for policy at the Veterans' Employment and Training Service.