#DiscoverTheTalent
The Wichita Falls Chamber is dedicated to hiring military spouses. In fact, I’m one of five military spouses hired in the last five years! Our thought is simple; military spouses are a source of quality, resilient talent and make our organization stronger. We want to help other organizations feel that way, too.
When Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) launched its Hiring 100K initiative, which focused on helping 100,000 military spouses find employment, we immediately signed on as a military-friendly employer and tracked our recent military spouse hires. After reaching their goal early, they’ve now launched their #DiscoverTheTalent initiative to continue their work around military spouse economic empowerment and employment.
Per their website, “the #DiscoverTheTalent initiative empowers businesses of all sizes to support military spouse employment in their communities by working with Hiring Our Heroes to target military spouses for job opportunities and share their success. The Hiring 100,000 Military Spouses initiative was a success, but the movement must continue, especially now as military spouse unemployment, exacerbated by the global pandemic, hovers at 38%. The #DiscoverTheTalent initiative builds on the success of Hiring 100,000 Military Spouses, engaging existing and new employer partners to increase economic opportunity for military spouses.”
Of course, the Wichita Falls Chamber is fully onboard with this new program! We’ve recently registered for #DiscoverTheTalent and received our official badge. This badge certifies our commitment to support military spouse hiring, provides us access to training resources and helps us stay connected to current events and new around military spouse economic empowerment.
You may already know about other Hiring Our Heroes programs that we’re leveraging in Wichita Falls, like the Sheppard Military Spouse Professional Network (MSPN) and our upcoming Grassroots Recruitment Opportunity Workshop (GROW), but in addition to #DiscoverTheTalent, the Wichita Falls Chamber is forming a working group to engage local employers and community partners in military spouse employment and economic empowerment. Our goal in creating this working group will be to launch a Military Spouse Economic Empowerment Zone (MSEEZ) in the near future.
“MSEEZ communities address local military spouse unemployment and underemployment issues through the efforts of local working groups. These groups work to establish a range of local employment-related tools and resources to help tackle military spouse employment issues head-on. The working group members are in the local community and represent government, industry, or nonprofit organizations,” according to the HOH website.
We have a great foundation, but always have room to grow! Are you interested in being a part of this conversation in our working group? Complete the HOH form here.
The Wichita Falls Chamber is excited to continue advocating for military spouse economic equity. If you are passionate about this too, we’d love to have a conversation with you! Reach out to Taylor@wichitafallschamber.com to learn more.
