A speaker addresses attendees at the one-year celebration of the CVS Health Talent Connect Center.
More than a thousand veterans and their families return to civilian life daily and that transition, particularly the search for a meaningful post-military career, often has its challenges. CVS Health is committed to helping make that transition easier. Recognizing the invaluable combination of skills and experience that veterans can offer employers, CVS Health is dedicated to recruiting, hiring, training and retaining veterans to build a pipeline of workforce talent. Since 2015, the company has hired almost 12,500 people with military experience and more than 3,400 military spouses.
Recently, CVS Health has taken that commitment even further, through expanded training and employment programs that give veterans a clear path to career opportunities within the company.
Bringing Career Training to Military Bases
In July 2018, CVS Health announced that it expanded its involvement in the Department of Defense SkillBridge Initiative, which helps service men and women transition from military life to private sector civilian careers, to two military bases: Hampton Roads in Virginia and Schofield Barracks in Hawaii.
As part of the SkillBridge Initiative, transitioning service members on these bases will be connected to a dedicated CVS Health colleague to learn about available job opportunities with the company and how their skills can translate to a meaningful career at CVS Health. The training portion of the program includes classroom curricula and a 12-week internship at a nearby CVS Pharmacy, followed by a virtual job tryout. Once they’ve completed their military service, veterans are eligible to apply for a position at any CVS Pharmacy around the country.
Celebrating One Year in Fort Bragg
CVS Health also recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of the opening of the company’s training and employment facility in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
The Talent Connect Center, which opened in July 2017 as part of the Fort Bragg Career Resource Center, guides veterans and their spouses through the opportunities available within CVS Health nationwide. In one year, fifty percent of participants who have completed the curriculum and training program have been hired by CVS Health, with the majority of others using the skills they gained to find other employment.
A Multi-Faceted Commitment
In addition to these two programs, CVS Health supports our nation's military in many other ways. Through a partnership between MinuteClinic, the company's retail medical clinic, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans in Phoenix, AZ are able to access high quality care and treatment of minor illnesses and injuries at the walk-in clinic. The Company also provides charitable support to military and veteran-focused organizations, including the National Guard, Fisher House, Operation Homefront, Operation Military Embrace, Operation Reinvent, ThanksUSA and the USO. CVS Health's colleague resource group Valor is comprised of over 500 colleagues with a passion to serve those who have served our country.