The Heinz Endowments is collaborating with the Institute for Veteran and Military Families and an alliance of Pittsburgh businesses to launch the Pittsburgh Veteran Employer Coalition (PVEC). The community-based employment collaborative will advance the lives and combat the pervasive underemployment of Pittsburgh’s veteran and military-connected residents. The PVEC will connect the city’s estimated 50,000 post-9/11 veterans and military-connected families with skill and experience-matched corporate sector employment opportunities, recruit active-duty personnel prior to exiting the military, and foster employment retention and data-based benchmarking.
The steering committee members have approved a charter agreeing to uphold the commitments of the coalition’s companies, including sharing recruiting, hiring, and retention data. Progress on initiative benchmarks will be determined by data provided by PVEC members and will be shared in aggregate with the community at large. Steering commitee members include representatives of eight major employers, including Accenture, City of Pittsburgh, FedEx Ground, Giant Eagle, Highmark Health, PITT OHIO, Oberg Industries, PNC Financial Services, and the Endowments.
The businesses in the group have put their competition for workforce development aside, and are committed to a partnership that strengthens the community of Pittsburgh by empowering veterans, recognizing their individual and collective skills and worth, and creating an extensive talent pipeline for employers in the city.