Local job fair aims at helping vets

The Idaho Department of Labor is joining forces with military organizations to host a program in Mountain Home aimed at helping military veterans and their families find jobs and launch their careers.

The Hero2Hired job fair runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, May 1, at the Elks Lodge, 325 South 3rd West St. in Mountain Home.

The hiring event is geared for military veterans as well as active duty, National Guard and Reserve military members and their families. People can register in advance or at the door.

Close to 40 employers are expected at the event. They include Saint Alphonsus Health System, St. Luke's Health System, Marathon Cheese, Mountain Home Police and Elmore County Sheriff's departments, Idaho State Police, Idaho Department of Corrections, May Trucking Company, U.S. Ecology, Blue Cross of Idaho and Boise State University.

Employers attending the event have open positions for which they are hiring. Many of them are expected to accept resumes and applications, or schedule or conduct interviews. Some could make job offers on the spot.

Hero2Hired is a Defense Department program charged with helping military members and their families find career employment. Anchored by the nation's largest military job search and posting website, it's posted information on more than 20,000 employers and 3.7 million job openings over the past two years.

The site features employers searching for employees with military skills and backgrounds.

Employers can list their open positions for free while contacting military members that post their profiles on the site. Military members can build profiles, post resumes and search for jobs across the nation and around the world.

This hiring event is a partnership that includes the Idaho Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve, the Idaho Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Labor Veterans Employment and Training Service, the Mountain Home Chamber of Commerce and the transition assistance program at Mountain Home Air Force Base. Employers interested in attending the hiring event are asked to contact Ray Cotton at the Mountain Home Department of Labor office at 364-7788, extension 3585.