Database links jobs, new veterans

Two groups trying to attract more defense-related business to North Carolina have created a database to link employers with a massive, but oft-overlooked work force: the thousands of North Carolina-based troops who leave the military each year.

The state has one of the highest numbers of troops in the country, which means those leaving the services are a competitive edge for economic development, said Will Austin, executive director of the N.C. Military Foundation. His foundation and the N.C. Military Business Center created the database, which is accessed via the center's Web site, www.ncmbc.us.

"This database is a unique new tool that helps connect companies to this highly-skilled, highly-trained work force," Austin said.

The database makes it easier for employers to figure out what skills are available among the new veterans. All they have to do is type in a word related to a job, and the database will tell them how many troops leave bases here each year with related military specialties.

A couple of mouse clicks then yields a description of the work involved with each specialty and the equivalent civilian title. One more click takes you to the state Employment Security Commission's description of the training someone with that military job would have.

The groups created the database by gathering data from the state's various military bases. They expect most users will be local economic development officials and human resources specialists for potential employers, Austin said. The Web site also will give contact information on each base for the offices that work with troops leaving the service, allowing employers to go directly to the source to find people with the skills they learn about on the database.

The information it makes available will help fight a common misconception among employers that folks leaving the military are trained for little more than combat, said Chuck Knight, Yadkin County's veterans service officer.

"Every job that exists in the civilian world also exists in the military," Knight said. "This will help educate people about that."

It's one thing to know that the Marine Corps has truck drivers, he said, and quite another to discover that those drivers have elaborate training for such things as moving hazardous materials or operating a 60-ton wrecker.

The database translates military job jargon into language that civilian employers can understand, said Jim Reichardt, director of Jacksonville-Onslow Economic Development. "It breaks down a barrier that kept folks without a military background from figuring out what skill sets exist," Reichardt said.