TYSONS, Va.–PenFed Credit Union hosted a military employment networking roundtable that brought together military employment leaders to share military hiring challenges and discuss solutions.
“Most Americans thank our nation’s military and veterans for their service – but not all Americans appreciate the value of veterans and military spouses in the workplace,” said PenFed President and CEO James Schenck, who is a former U.S. Army aviator and who also serves as CEO of the PenFed Foundation. “The best way to thank them for their service is to create jobs.”
From his experience at PenFed, Schenck said veterans and military spouses bring unique qualities to the workplace: “leadership, focus, character and grit – a fierce determination to succeed. As employers who are committed to selecting the best and brightest members of the military community, our challenge is to encourage all business leaders to recruit and select from the outstanding talent pool of individuals who defend our nation and those who support them.”
At right, from left: Steve Bosack, PenFed Special Advisor to the President & Chief Communications Officer; James Schenck, PenFed President & CEO and PenFed Foundation CEO; Andrea McCarren, PenFed, Chief Digital Officer & VP PenFed Digital; Charlie Miles, PenFed, Director of Military Employment Program; U.S. Army Gen. (Ret.) John W. Nicholson, Jr., PenFed Foundation President.
The event included remarks from PenFed Foundation President U.S. Army Gen. (Ret.) John W. Nicholson, Jr. on the Foundation’s initiatives and a keynote speech from U.S. Army Master Sgt. (Ret.) Cedric King, a paraplegic wounded warrior who transformed himself into a marathon runner and motivational speaker. Charlie Miles, PenFed’s director of Military Employment Program, conceived the idea for the first-of-its-kind PenFed event.
Also in attendance were Virginia House of Delegates Member David Reid and Amazon’s Military Affairs Officer and U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. (Ret.) John Quintas.
A roundtable discussion among 60 business leaders focused on military transition experience, advocating for military spouse employment, educating recruiters and hiring managers, corporate learning and bias in military experience. The discussion was hosted by Andrea McCarren, PenFed’s chief digital officer & VP PenFed Digital. Topics were selected by participants through feedback they provided in a pre-event survey.
As part of an ongoing commitment to select and support veterans, PenFed said it launched a Military Employment Program focused on supporting every phase of the employment lifecycle for all members of the military community including veterans, military and surviving spouses, wounded warriors and their caregivers, reservists and National Guardsmen.
In addition to spending 25% of its recruiting budget on military recruiting, PenFed said it also collaborates with dozens of military employment organizations, as well as dozens of installation Transition Assistance Program offices, to enhance military employment efforts. Currently, 12% of PenFed employees have a military affiliation. Schenck said PenFed’s goal is to double the national average of veterans in the workforce, which is currently approaching 9%.
PenFed noted it has a strong legacy of being a military-friendly company. The PenFed Foundation – PenFed Credit Union’s charitable arm – was created in 2001 and, since then, has provided more than $30 million in financial support to veterans, active-duty service members, families and caregivers. Charitable donations from the credit union and Foundation equal 2% of the credit union’s annual income, with the majority going to military charities.
The PenFed Foundation Veteran Entrepreneur Investment Program (VEIP) launched last year with a Foundation contribution and matching funding of up to $1 million from PenFed Credit Union. The program provides veteran-owned start-ups with seed capital to build and grow their businesses, creates a robust network for veteran-owned businesses to succeed and enables the PenFed Foundation to perpetually reinvest returns in future veteran-owned businesses.