The winners of the Prime Minister's Veterans' Employment Awards were announced last week.
The awards recognise the achievements of individuals and organisations for their work in raising awareness of the unique and valuable skills veterans bring to the civilian workplace and in creating employment opportunities for veterans and spouses of serving ADF members.
The awards also provide examples of successful strategies that organisations use to recruit and retain veterans, who bring unique insights and skills into the civilian workforce.
"We best honour the diggers of 100 years ago by supporting the servicemen and women and the veterans of today," PM Malcolm Turnbull said. "The sad truth is that we have not always done so, or not always done well enough."
"Sometimes, coming home can be among the toughest challenges our veterans face."
"Now our veterans have impressive résumés. They’re motivated, resilient and proven problem solvers. They can cope with unexpected and unpredictable situations. They’ve operated around the world. They can work cooperatively with people from different countries, different cultures, different languages and different backgrounds. They are great leaders, trained to deliver their best and get the best out of others."
The foremost two awards recognise the individual and organisation that set themselves apart from others through their contributions to veterans' employment. Winners were chosen from over 90 nominations. This year's industry winner was WithYouWithMe, a veteran-owned tech company.
WithYouWithMe's success stems from training programs that up-skill veterans for specific roles that are determined to be the ‘right fit’. There are currently more than 1400 veterans on company programs, and around 300 veterans have secured direct employment.
WithYouWithMe also seeks to educate Australian industry about the value of veteran employees.
Industry winners in other categories include Boeing (Veterans’ Employer of the Year – Prime), Secure Windows (Veterans’ Employer of the Year – SME), and Westpac Group (Excellence in Supporting Spouse Employment).
Glen Ferrarotto of Ironside Recruitment, an Aspen Medical company took home the individual contribution award.
"It is a combination of Glen’s experience, knowledge and passion to help others that makes his contribution to veterans' employment stand out from others," according to his citation. "He is personally invested in each veteran that he seeks to assist, and his passion and enthusiasm to assist veterans are his key drivers."