The second annual Veterans Employment and Training Symposium was held Thursday at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System headquarters in Versailles. Dallas Kratzer is an Air Force veteran who works for the Kentucky Commission on Military Affairs. He said the event was designed to let employers learn how to hire people about to leave the military – and a program called SkillBridge.
“That will allow the employer to reach out to service members up to a year before they get out and have them do an internship in their workplace for up to six months, just before they get out. And it gives them a chance that service member a chance to see what it's like to be on the civilian side.”
Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman was one of the speakers. She urged vets to use all the resources available to them and called them the best of Team Kentucky. Kratzer said vets tend to make good employees – even if the civilian job isn’t exactly what they were doing in the military.
“Our technical skills often do not translate, but our soft skills, leading teams, interpersonal communication, program management, project management, those are all skills that are transferable anywhere you are.”
Another speaker was Taheesha Quarells, an Army veteran who works for the Department of Defense’s Military-Civilian Transition Office.
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