More former military members could soon be helping to keep Penn’s campus safe.
Last week, AlliedBarton Security Services, the company that provides the security guards around Penn’s campus, joined the 100,000 Jobs Mission, a coalition of companies that aims to hire more returning United States military veterans.
It remains to be seen whether joining this coalition will affect the makeup of AlliedBarton’s employees at Penn, according to a spokesperson for AlliedBarton’s Philadelphia office.
Last year, the national AlliedBarton company hired 4,500 veterans, reservists, national guardsmen and active-duty service members, according to AlliedBarton Security’s Director of Strategic Recruiting Jerold Ramos. This year, the company is aiming to hire 5,000 military-affiliated people, using resources like the 100,000 Jobs Mission to help fulfill this goal.
AlliedBarton guards perform a number of functions at Penn, from ensuring the safety of streets and college houses to acting as walking escorts.
There are currently a number of AlliedBarton guards patrolling Penn that are veterans. Four different veterans declined to comment, however, citing a company policy against being interviewed about their jobs.
According to Ramos, the company joined the 100,000 Jobs Mission for reasons of both practicality and conscience.
“Quite simply, [hiring veterans] is the right thing to do, and this will help us do it easier,” Ramos said. He is also a veteran, having served for four years in the U.S. Navy in the 1970s aboard the USS Kitty Hawk.
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He also cited the real-world experience, leadership and dependability of veterans as reasons they make excellent employees. “Their former jobs equate very well to the jobs we have here at AlliedBarton,” Ramos added.
Ramos said increasing the number of veterans hired involved informing field recruiters that the company is aiming to hire more veterans, as well as letting military assistance groups know that AlliedBarton has jobs for veterans.
Al Santosusso, the district manager of AlliedBarton for the portion of Philadelphia that includes Penn, could not be reached for comment.
Military assistance groups like the 100,000 Jobs Mission make it their goal to help veterans find work. According to Barbara Pflughaupt, a spokesperson for G.I. Jobs, another military assistance group, this includes helping veterans find job resources and prepare for interviews.
“We can’t ensure their employment, but we do everything we can to help them get the tools they need,” Pflughaupt added.
Other security companies have already found success with the 100,000 Jobs Mission.
Universal Protection Service, a California-based company specializing in security and janitorial needs, joined the coalition last year. According to Director of Field Recruiting Donna Singer, the company has already seen results.
The 100,000 Jobs Mission “makes hiring veterans easier, particularly in increasing access to applicants and resumes,” Singer said.
Unemployment for returning soldiers, especially from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has proven a long-standing issue. The annual average unemployment for Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans was 9.9 percent in 2012, above the national average of 7.6 percent.
Launched in 2011 by six companies, the 100,000 Jobs Mission has grown to include over 90, including Amazon, Coca-Cola and Verizon.
The goal of the coalition is to have the companies hire a cumulative 100,000 veterans by 2020. By the end of 2012, they were more than halfway there, having hired 51,835 veterans.
