DEW is putting veterans to work

Olin Booker was out of a job, out of money and out of time.

In January 2016, he was packing to move back to Georgia when he was advised by his VA administrator to visit the Greenville SC Works Center and talk with them about finding a job.

He decided to give it a try, and there he met Frank Mattox, an SC Works veteran’s representative, who within hours had lined up an interview with Michelin Prime. Two days later Booker had an interview with the company and was hired on the spot.

Booker, who served eight years in the U.S. Army Reserves, is one of the 8,000 veterans who were placed in jobs by the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) last year. South Carolina also has one of the lowest veterans’ unemployment rates in the country at 4.4 percent.

“(SC Works) turned my life around. I was in the process of packing, getting ready to move,” he said. “I hadn’t worked since 2012. My savings were depleted; I had just enough money to pay my rent. I was two weeks from being homeless.”

Years before, Booker moved to South Carolina to take a job with BMW after being laid off from General Motors in Memphis, Tenn., but he sustained a severe knee injury and wasn’t able to continue working. He ended up on unemployment and receiving food stamps, he said.

At the urging of Gov. Nikki Haley, DEW has made finding jobs for veterans a top priority. In the past year, DEW has refined how it delivers employment services to veterans including:

• Local veterans’ employment representatives in SC Works centers throughout the state engage the business community to cultivate relationships with employers and market veterans as great hires.
• DEW staff serves veterans one-on-one.
• DEW focused on identifying and assisting individuals with barriers to employment. This includes helping veterans transition from a military way of communicating and coaching them on how to word resumes and answer interview questions to display their skills accurately to civilian hiring managers.

“Making sure our veterans, like Mr. Booker, have opportunities is one of Gov. Haley’s priorities,” said Cheryl Stanton, executive director of the Department of Employment and Workforce. “I am proud of the work our team of veteran representatives provides to ensure her goals are realized. They work closely with veterans to find the right fit and with businesses to determine their workforce needs and inform them about the advantages of hiring veterans.”

About DEW:

The S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) is putting South Carolinians to work. The agency invests in building a pipeline of quality workers, matches workers with jobs, and is a bridge for individuals who find themselves out of work for no fault of their own. This promotes financial stability and economic prosperity for employers, individuals and communities. A proud partner of the American Job Center network, DEW is dedicated to advancing South Carolina through services that meet the needs of the state’s businesses, jobseekers and those looking to advance their careers.