This article was written by Sindy Yeh, Senior Business Ambassador for Arlington Economic Development.
In honor of last week’s Veterans Day, AED would like to highlight the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Virginia Values Veterans (V3) Program.
With one of the youngest and fastest growing veteran labor forces in the country, this free training and certification program focuses on why it’s a good business decision for Virginia companies to recruit, hire, train and retain veterans.
Virginia companies who have completed all V3 training requirements and have submitted a veteran hiring plan will be recognized as an official “V3-Certified Company.” Furthermore, V3 qualified companies with fewer than 300 employees may qualify for up to $10,000 in grants, with $1,000 being awarded per eligible veteran that is hired and retained for at least one year.
The Virginia Department of Veterans Services (VDVS) administers the program and has certified more than 1,300 organizations, including public and private companies, federal, state and local government agencies, colleges and universities. On October 30, 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced that more than 67,000 Virginia military veterans have been hired through the V3 program since its inception in 2012, surpassing the goal he set of 65,000 V3 hires by the end of his administration.
Currently, there are more than 70 Arlington organizations participating in the V3 Program, from large companies like Nestlé, Boeing, CACI and Lockheed Martin to mid- and small-size companies like Ideal Innovations, Millennium Corporation, Halfaker Associates and Global Defense Inc. In August 2020, VDVS presented the V3 Military Spouse Award to Amazon for hiring 167 military spouses in 2019.
We encourage Arlington companies to consider becoming V3 certified to better understand the value veterans can bring to their business.