Latest Maine Hire-A-Vet campaign yields 186 hires

File photo Courtesy / Maine Department of Labor A total of 186 veterans and military family members were hired during the 2022 Maine Hire-A-Vet Campaign, at an average hourly rate above $33, according to the Maine Department of Labor.

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By Renee Cordes

Maine employers in a variety of sectors hired 186 military veterans and family members during the latest Maine Hire-A-Vet campaign, according to the Maine Department of Labor. The new hires include 40 female veterans.

The 2022 campaign, which kicked off with an in-person hiring fair in Augusta last August, included a combination of live and virtual events and wrapped up on Nov. 25.

Employers who made the most hires during the 2022 campaign were Bonney Staffing; MaineGeneral Health; Northern Light Health; Bath Iron Works, which is owned by General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD); and the Maine Department of Corrections.

New hires will receive an average hourly wage of $33.12, an increase of $9 from the 2021 campaign.

In 2022, 209 employers signed on to the campaign, and hires were made in all Maine counties. During the campaign, 102 participants attended 11 educational programs to serve veteran and non-veteran job seekers and employers.

"Thank you to everyone who made the 2022 campaign so successful,” said Maine Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman. "Through this collaboration, we not only exceeded our annual goal of getting 100 veterans hired within 100 days, but also saw the average hourly wage of hires increase exponentially."

The annual initiative has connected more than 1,200 employers with over 1,800 veteran-hires since 2015 and has been recognized as a best practice by the U.S. Department of Labor (and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies.

Sponsors of the 2022 campaign included: General Dynamics/Bath Iron Works, MaineGeneral Health, Oakhurst, Elmet Technologies, the Maine Bureau of Veteran Services, Maine Department of Corrections, Boots2Roots, the City of Augusta, Destination Occupation, Sport Clips, Moody Collision Centers, Northern Light Health, NRF Distributors and Reed & Reed.

The Maine Hire-A-Vet Campaign is a partnership between the Maine Department of Labor Veterans Employment Team and its CareerCenters, Boots2Roots, the Maine National Guard Employment Support Program, Maine Bureau of Veterans Services, VA Veteran Readiness and Employment, state Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, Military OneSource and businesses across the state.

Boots2Roots, led by Executive Director Bill Benson, is a Portland-based nonprofit that helps returning military members hit the ground running in Maine.