Walmart Hires 6K Military Spouses
Walmart Inc. revealed that it has hired 6,000 military spouses since launching the Military Spouse Career Connection (MSCC). The six-month-old initiative gives hiring preference to military spouses seeking employment with Walmart or Sam’s Club.
The news comes at a time when more than 75 percent of the nation’s 500,000 military spouses want or need work, according to the Department of Defense Military Spouse Employment Partnership. The MSCC is part of Walmart’s Military Family Promise, now in its ninth year, which guarantees a job at a nearby store or club for all military personnel and spouses employed by the company who move to a different part of the country as part of their military service.
“Military spouses are a diverse, adaptable, educated and team-oriented group of men and women,” noted retired Brig. Gen. Gary Profit, senior director of military programs at Walmart. “They have many of the same skills that veterans have, which makes them highly desirable job candidates. It’s our honor to offer them opportunities here at Walmart and beyond.”
Additionally, the Walmart Foundation awarded a $1 million grant to Alpharetta, Ga.-based Hire Heroes USA, a veteran service organization dedicated to empowering U.S. military members, veterans, and their spouses as they seek civilian employment, to help fund the expansion of its employment programs and improve data collection and reporting. Part of the funding will support a program manager for Hire Heroes’ Serving Spouses, a career coaching program designed especially for military spouses who face such obstacles to employment as frequent moves, child care issues while a spouse is deployed, and having to reobtain certifications that don’t transfer from state to state.
“This investment will help us continue our world-class program delivery for veterans and military spouses who face unique challenges in the civilian job search,” said Hire Heroes USA CEO Christopher Plamp. “Further, the grant will help us conduct critical data collection and analysis that will inform the entire veteran service community. Through our partnership with Walmart, we will continue to strengthen military families and improve the lives of the men and women who have served our country.”
May is also the sixth anniversary of Walmart’s Veterans Welcome Home Commitment (VWHC) which guarantees a job offer to any eligible, honorably discharged U.S. veterans who separated from active duty since the inception of the program on Memorial Day 2013. To date, 226,637 vets have been hired and 35,383 have been promoted to roles with higher pay and greater responsibility at Walmart and Sam’s Club. Walmart is currently more than 90 percent of the way to reaching its goal of hiring 250,000 veterans by 2020.
Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart operates more than 11,300 stores under 58 banners in 27 countries, and ecommerce websites, employing 2.2 million-plus associates worldwide. The company is No. 1 on Progressive Grocer’s 2019 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.
