The Home Depot, one of the countries largest home improvement retailers, announced recently that the company is joining forces with the U.S. Departments of Labor, Defense and Veterans Affairs to provide career opportunities for America's service members. This effort, known as Operation Career Front, is intended to support America's military job seekers, including veterans, separating active duty service members, national guard members, reservists and military spouses.

"The cooperative efforts between the U.S. Departments of Labor, Defense, Veterans Affairs and The Home Depot is a great example of how the public and private sectors can work together to honor our military veterans and their families by ensuring they have good career opportunities when they return home," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "Through its nationwide network of One-Stop Career Centers, the Labor Department will help recruit, train and employ these brave veterans for careers that will utilize their valuable skills and proven leadership experience."

"The U.S. military community offers The Home Depot a talent pool of highly skilled individuals who have unique knowledge and character from their military experience, making them ideal candidates for our national hiring initiative," said Bob Nardelli, chairman, president & CEO of The Home Depot. "We view our support of the military as our responsibility to our country and a valuable investment in our company's future. In short, it is good for America, and it is good for our business."

To support the initiative, the U.S. Department of Defense will provide a link on its web site to Operation Career Front to enable military members and their families to apply for employment with The Home Depot, and it will list The Home Depot as a prospective employer on its job search web site.

The U.S. Department of Defense will also make information available to interested military personnel and their families outlining the process to apply for careers with The Home Depot through their Military Transition Assistance and Family Centers. In addition, the Marine for Life program will promote Operation Career Front to Marines in transition as well as those Marines who have previously served, through its nationwide network of alumni hometown links.

The U.S. Department of Labor will make Operation Career Front information available to its more than 2,000 One-Stop Career Centers throughout the nation. The U.S. Department of Labor will also support the initiative utilizing the Local Veterans Employment Representatives (LVERs) as well as Disabled Veteran Opportunity Program (DVOP) specialists located at One-Stops and Transition Centers across the nation.

The U.S. Veterans Affairs Department's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VA VR&E) division will make Operation Career Front information available to veterans with service-connected disabilities through its representatives located in state offices across the nation.

In addition to providing employment opportunities for active, reserve, National Guard or veteran members of the military community through Operation Career Front, The Home Depot is also seeking to employ military spouses and other dependents. With its network of stores throughout the country, The Home Depot will work with its military associates to provide transfers in the cases of reassignment of duty stations, retirement or separation, depending on store and job availability. Operation Career Front will serve as a resource to thousands of individuals seeking assistance securing part- or full-time employment.

The Home Depot hired nearly 10,000 veterans in 2003 and is on track to surpass that number by a wide margin in 2004 and launched its first national hiring partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor in June of 2002; to date, several thousand people have been employed through the effort.

Links

Interested applicants can learn more about Operation Career Front and apply at one of the 2,000 One-Stop Career Centers around the country operated by the U.S. Department of Labor http://www.servicelocator.org or online at http://www.careers.homedepot.com/military.

Job seekers interested in The Home Depot may also visit a local store to complete an online application at an employment kiosk.