The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded Nevada County a HIRE Vets Platinum Award for its Veterans Hiring and Internship Program. The award honors employers who have proven their commitment to hire, retain, and support Veterans in their organization. Nevada County is one of only 17 employers across the nation to be recognized at this level and is the only large employer in Northern California to receive this prestigious award.
Nevada County’s Veteran Hiring and Internship program is the result of three years of leadership by Director of Human Resources, Steve Rose, who is himself a retired Air Force officer with 25 years of service. The program stemmed from a desire to meet the distinctive needs of Veterans looking to continue their public service after the military. “Our desire was threefold: to recruit, employ, and retain highly skilled veterans with the experience and motivation to work for our innovative County” Rose said.
Over the last three years, Rose and his staff brought several key Veteran employment initiatives to fruition. Nevada County is the first county in California to become an Army PaYS (Partnership for Youth Success) program partner. The Army PaYS program guarantees qualified soldiers an interview with the County for open positions and allows the County to recruit from over 1.2 million soldiers worldwide with specific skills and talent.
Additionally, the County has become a Department of Defense SkillBridge Employer. This program allows service members to intern with select employers for up to the last 180 days of their service commitment in order to gain valuable skills to assist them in transitioning from military service to civilian life. To date, Nevada County has hosted five Airmen from Beale Air Force Base under this program, including our current Office of Emergency Services Program Manager, Paul Cummings.
The County has also partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs to host Veterans who are college students under the VA Work-Study and return-to-work Veterans Programs.
On November 10th, Rose joined U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Martin J. Walsh and two other employers in a virtual roundtable discussion on the HIRE Vets Medallion Award. Watch the full awards ceremony
