For military personnel looking for a job, there is now an app for that.
The free New York National Guard Job Zone app for Apple and Android devices was created by Army National Guard Capt. Alexander Prezioso in his spare time. The app allows users to find employers with jobs to offer soldiers and airmen.
“Our young, tech-savvy Guard soldiers and airmen use their smartphones and tablets to stay connected to the world and each other,” said Major Gen. Patrick Murphy, adjutant general of New York. “In order to reach them with information on employment opportunities, we need to use the technology they use all the time.”
The app allows the user to connect to job postings the Division of Military and Naval Affairs maintains on its website. The website lists jobs offered by civilian employers who want to hire members of the state’s part-time military, as well as National Guard military and civilian jobs. There are currently more than 160 civilian job openings being advertised on the Job Zone page.
The Web page was created in 2011 as part of the Guard’s efforts to ensure that its members returning from overseas deployments, or serving at home as traditional soldiers and airmen, have well-paying jobs.
“When our soldiers and airmen have good civilian jobs, with employers who support their service, it is good for the National Guard and good for New York,” Murphy said. “It is also good for the employers because they get motivated, disciplined, drug-free employees.”
The unemployment rate for Guard members is about 10 percent, according to recent surveys of members by the National Guard Bureau. Along with maintaining the job site, the New York National Guard Family Programs Office hosts regular job-training seminars for soldiers leaving active military duty or Guard members returning from deployments, hosts and participates in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Hire Our Heroes job fairs and partners with the New York State Department of Labor to help Guard members find employment.
“When it comes down to it,” Perzioso said. “It’s all about taking care of our service members and their families.”
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