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Top tech firms join push to hire vets

JPMorgan Chase leads '100,000 Jobs Mission' to hire military personnel leaving active duty through 2020

March 9, 2011 12:58 PM ET

Computerworld - Cisco, AT&T, Verizon and EMC have joined seven other major corporations that have jointly pledged to hire 100,000 veterans and military personnel that end active duty by the end of 2020.

JPMorgan Chase is leading so-called "100,000 Jobs Mission." The high tech firms involved note that technical skills learned and used in the military could easily benefit them.

"For decades, we have aggressively recruited military talent from both enlisted and officer ranks," said AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel. "The technical skills and leadership experience gained in the military transfer well to our company and culture."

Siegel said AT&T was proud to join the other employers "including our colleagues at [competitor] Verizon. This has nothing to do with the daily thrust and parry of competition in telecom."

JP Morgan Chase hopes to add more partners and increase the targeted number of jobs offered to military veterans. Unemployment in the U.S. currently stands at 8.9% overall, but at 9.2% for veterans. The figure rises to 12.5% for vets leaving the military today, according to a statement from JP Morgan Chase.

The group has committed to hire 20,000 of the 100,000 by the end of 2012.

"Not only is this the right thing to do for veterans, but all of the companies in the 100,000 Jobs Mission recognize it's a great thing to do for our businesses," said Frank Bisignano, chief administrative officer at JP Morgan Chase in a statement. To apply for a job at JP Morgan Chase or post a resume, applicants should go to www.chasemilitary.com,

JPMorgan Chase, Cisco, AT&T, Verizon and EMC are so far joined by Cushman & Wakefield, Iron Mountain, Modis, NCR and Universal Health Services in the project.

Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at Twitter@matthamblen, or subscribe to Matt's RSS feed Hamblen RSS. His e-mail address is mhamblen@computerworld.com.

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