Anchorage Job Fair To Feature Employment Opportunities For Military Service Veterans

Jan. 19, 2005
No. 05-46

ANCHORAGE – More than 60 Alaska businesses and organizations will be on hand to provide job recruitment information to prospective employees with previous military service during a Tuesday, February 8 veterans job fair in Anchorage.

The job fair is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development Anchorage Job Center, 1251 Muldoon Road.

The event will be hosted by specialists from the Division of Employment Security with additional information and assistance available from representatives of the Alaska Departments of Public Safety, Corrections and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“The veterans job fair provides both public- and private-sector Alaska businesses and organizations with an outstanding opportunity to meet and recruit from a pool of well-trained and experienced military veterans looking for jobs,” said Labor Commissioner Greg O’Claray.

“Many of today’s veterans are motivated men and women with advanced skills, from sophisticated equipment operators, to security and public safety, handling high-tech communications and expediting supply lines.”

“We welcome our veterans to Alaska’s biggest hiring hall,” O’Claray added. The Division of Employment Security now operates 24 statewide locations of the Alaska Job Center network including the Muldoon facility.

“Veterans have excellent work ethics, integrity, the ability to work in diverse environments and strong problem-solving skills,” said Bernita Cohen, a veterans’ services representative at the Anchorage Job Center Midtown.

“They are reliable, adaptable, detail oriented, and have effective time management skills,” Cohen added. “We currently have veterans with skills and experience ranging from administrative support to highly technical occupations.”

More than 71,000 veterans live in Alaska and represent 17 percent of the state population.

“A goal of the fair is to make employers aware of the advantages of hiring veterans,” said Brad Gillespie, Anchorage regional manager of the Alaska Job Center Network. “These men and women have the relevant work experience and training needed by today’s employers.”

Gillespie said the federal 2002 Jobs for Veterans Act requires that employment programs open to the public include veterans’ employment and training priority.

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News Media Contacts:
Tom Nelson, Director, Employment Security Division, 907.465.2712 or
Joe Holbert, Special Assistant/Communications, 907-465-5673

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