At job fair, 'We love veterans' is the refrain
By Curt Prendergast
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Making the leap from the military to the private sector can be a daunting task.
'It can be scary. I guess it's the fear of the unknown,' said Antwyon Smith, a logistics manager who has served in the Air Force for 19 years and plans to retire in the next few years.
'You can't do this forever,' Smith said of serving in the military. 'We're taught you have to take advantage and prepare yourself.'
Smith chatted with potential employers - 'showing my face and seeing what's out there' - at the Next Steps for Vets job fair Wednesday morning at Pima Community College's Coalition Center at 4355 E. Calle Aurora.
Roughly 70 service members and veterans listened to panel discussions and visited with about a dozen local employers in the aerospace, manufacturing and healthcare industries.
'We are looking for people who are ready to take it to the next level,' Esteban Garcia, technical manager for World View Enterprises, told the audience.
The Tucson-based high- altitude- balloon company sees growth on
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the horizon in research and tourism, Garcia said. And the company needs people who understand technical information and can communicate well with engineers.
Dave Raymond, an instructor at PCC, told the audience the school already trains airframe technicians and likely will develop a similar program for balloons.
'Our program is designed for veterans who are just out of the military,' with the goal of getting them certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, he said.
For airmen at the job fair, the FAA was a popular option after leaving the service.
'With the FAA, it's the exact same job, just different clothes,' said Nicholas Cunningham, 31, an airfield systems technician with the Air Force.
Just like the Air Force, the FAA needs people who know how to manage incoming and outgoing airplanes, he said. For service members thinking about leaving the military, one of the draws is the chance to work with newer technology rather than decades-old equipment used by the military, said ground radar technician Matt Sacco, 25.
'I want to roll into that,' Sacco said. Sargent Aerospace and Defense was on hand looking for machinists, assemblers, engineers, project managers, and desk workers like cost accountants, said Tanya Jimenez, whoworks in human resources at Sargent.
'Military candidates are always great,' she said. 'You give them a project and they are going to follow through with it.'
Former service members 'ask the right questions' and are always punctual, Jimenez said.
She recommends service members train as much as possible, and even do an internship or two, before leaving the service.
Southwest Gas also had a booth at the job fair, trying to attract veterans to a multitude of positions. 'We love veterans,' said Deron Johnson of Southwest Gas' human resources department.
'A lot of veterans' experience is applicable to what we do,' Johnson said, listing construction, communications, engineering and automotive work.
Wednesday's job fair was the third event put on for veterans by PCC, the Pima County One-Stop Career Center, University of Arizona Tech Parks, Tech Park Arizona, and the Airmen and Family Readiness Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
Contact Curt Prendergast at 5734224 or cprendergast@tucson.com. On Twitter @CurtTucsonStar.
Air Force logistics manager Antwyon Smith talks with Evonne Cummins, corporate recruiter with information technology company STG, during the Next Steps for Vets job fair.
CURT PRENDERGAST / ARIZONA DAILY STAR
