WISCONSIN VETERANS IN THE WORKFORCE SUMMIT

The Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce regularly engages with employers of every size throughout the year through employer-focused educational programming. Quarterly employment workshops targeted to meet the needs of human resources professionals and small to mid-size employers, along with quarterly roundtables for corporate veteran resource group members and leaders, have cultivated a wide network of veteran-friendly employers across Wisconsin.

To provide these employers with the knowledge they need to recruit and retain veteran talent, we host the annual Wisconsin Veterans in the Workforce Summit each fall. The Wisconsin Veterans in the Workforce Summit, the largest single convening of veteran-friendly employers in Wisconsin, provides Wisconsin’s businesses with critical information on employing veterans or military family members. Human resources professionals, corporate veteran resource group members, and employers of every size will hear from industry experts and community leaders on how they can attract and retain military veteran employees.

This half-day event will feature workshops, a luncheon featuring a keynote speaker, and panel discussion of leading veteran-friendly employers in Wisconsin. Workshops will last one hour and focus on topics including:

Veteran employment benefits and incentives (John Francis, Heartland)

EEO reporting and tracking (Laurie Meyer, Davis & Kuelthau)

Veteran recruitment and retention strategies (Garan Chivinski, G4S Secure Solutions)

Veteran resource group programming development

Veteran resource group community engagement strategies (Gene Manzanet, PNC Bank)

Veteran resource group leaders roundtable (Donald Placidi, PNC Bank; Ben Klenke, Baird)

The keynote speaker for this event will be Christopher "Tank" Murdoch from Foxconn, speaking about Foxconn's veteran employment initiative. Past speakers have included representatives from Recruit Military, PNC Bank, MillerCoors, and Northwestern Mutual.

The Wisconsin Veterans in the Workforce Summit takes a unique approach to veteran workforce development. Rather than duplicating existing resources and events like career fairs or job training, the Wisconsin Veterans in the Workforce Summit is a distinct event providing employers with critical knowledge and best practices in order to empower them to hire the best employees available - military veterans. The 2017 Veterans in the Workforce Summit attracted more than 120 attendees representing more than 40 employers. This year’s Veterans in the Workforce Summit combines our programming targeting employers and human resources professionals with corporate veteran resource groups to appeal to a broad audience of veteran-friendly employers. We predict this expanded focus, as well as increased programming at the event, will result in a significant increase in the size and diversity of the audience.