Employers and providers gave support to job seekers

LAREDO, Texas — (November 2018) — The seventh annual “Hiring Red, White & You! Job Fair” was held in Laredo, on Thursday, November 8, 2018, at the UT Health Science Center.

The goal of the Red, White, and You! is to offer job opportunities to veterans, their family members, and the general public.

“This was the 7^th annual hiring event and Workforce Solutions for South Texas is proud to offer this specialized hiring event for our Veterans in conjunction with the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas Veterans Commission, The Texas Medical Center, and Governor Gregg Abbott,” said Rogelio Trevino, Executive Director for Workforce Solutions for South Texas.

Thirty employers and 14 providers participated during the no-cost hiring event.

“There are numerous benefits to hiring veterans. They are trained to be leaders and managers; they know the importance of integrity, respect, and accountability,” Andrea De La Garza, Project Director for Workforce Solutions for South Texas, said. “These are all string attributes any employer seeks.”

According to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) “over the past six years, Hiring Red, White & You! has connected more than 71,800 veterans with over 10,300 employers.”

Prior to the Hiring Event, the Workforce Solutions for South Texas offered Career Preparation Workshops, where job seekers learned the requirements to qualify for work at the City of Laredo, Webb County and the State of Texas, but also got one-on-one service to build a better resume and prepare for a job interview.

“As our Nation honors Veterans this entire month and as part of our gratitude to our Veterans, this annual Job fair was created to connect job ready, skilled veterans with many local employers who do have meaningful job opportunities,” Trevino said. “Our local employers were eager to meet with and possibly hire the Veterans and their families who attended.”

According to the TWC “there are nearly 1.7 million total veterans throughout Texas, which is the 2nd highest state population of veterans in the country. An estimated 967,000 of these veterans are eligible for work.”

Employers who hire veterans may be eligible for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which allows employers to receive up to $9,600 on federal business income or payroll tax benefits when they hire from certain qualified groups of veterans.

On Thursday, Trevino welcomed the participants; the invocation was conducted by Ruben Villarreal from KHOY, the Laredo Veterans Honor Guard did the Presentation of Colors, while US Veterans Edwardo Gonzalez sang the National Anthem. The guest speaker was Alfredo Macue from the Texas Workforce Commission.

Special recognitions were given to the Workforce Solutions for South Texas Board Members, Elected Officials, the Red, White and You Steering Committee, and Julie Bazan, Executive Director for the Middle Rio Grande Border AHEC program.