Tech association taps new VP amid push to hire more vets

A large tech group is setting unemployment among veterans in its crosshairs.

The technology trade association, the Consumer Technology Association, which represents the largest collection of tech firms in Washington, D.C., announced a new hire and a new initiative on Tuesday. Both of which are aiming to help veterans find jobs in the tech sector.

The group will hire Jennifer Taylor to be its vice president of U.S. jobs.

{mosads}Taylor will help the company’s job efforts and specifically boost the group’s efforts to work with U.S. Tech Vets, an organization that helps place veterans in technology jobs.

Currently, there are roughly 260,000 open technology jobs and 450,000 veterans seeking employment, according to Glassdoor and the Bureau of Labor statistics.

“The general philosophy of what we’re doing is that our military does an excellent job at training our servicemen and women,” Taylor said in an interview with The Hill. “They have tremendous leadership and skills.”

Taylor, having lived in Middletown, Ohio — the town where much of J.D. Vance’s memoir about an out-of-touch workforce, “Hillbilly Elegy,” took place — says she understands the realities of a shifting workforce and unemployment.

“When a primary company in one town doesn’t innovate and moves its headquarters out of the city — it impacts the tax revenue coming in, which affects the public services like libraries and schools,” Taylor said. “It creates communities where there aren’t as many opportunities.”

Consumer Technology Association President Gary Shapiro says his organization’s push to boost employment among veterans will be beneficial for the entire technology industry.

“Our industry has a bit of a skills shortage crisis,” Shapiro said, speaking on the number of open technology jobs and lack of qualified labor to fill them.

“I think we all feel an obligation to our veterans and we know over a half [million] are looking for work,” Shapiro continued saying that putting veterans in tech roles could be a win-win.

The organization is still working out the details on how it plans to connect veterans to open jobs, but says it will draw on its past work helping veterans explain their military skills to civilian employers.

Shapiro, who has previously rebuked Trump, praised the president for changing discourse over employment and outsourcing in the country.

“Love or hate Trump, he has changed the discussion in corporate board rooms,” Shapiro told The Hill. “Now what we’re seeing is a change in the discussion of how we can invest in the U.S. instead of going overseas.”

Shapiro did acknowledge that it’s possible that some companies may be moving jobs back to the country in “fear” of being publicly lambasted by the president like Carrier endured earlier in the year.

Technology firms have faced some criticism for unemployment as automation displaces some workers. The Consumer Technology Association says it recognizes this and is working to help boost skills for new jobs that are born out of advancements in technology.

“I think because manufacturers are adopting automation to increase production, we as an industry have to respond,” said Izzy Santa, director of policy communications at Consumer Technology Association.

“We’re going to try to make sure that we as the tech industry speak together as one unified voice to make sure industry is a player in retraining and inspiring lifelong learning.”