SIA launches jobs board to attract veterans to the security industry

Dec. 13, 2024
The Veterans Employment Exchange is designed to match veterans and separating military members with career opportunities in the security industry and is free to SIA members and all job seekers.

The Security Industry Association (SIA)—in a new initiative spearheaded by SIA’s Veterans in Security community—has launched the SIA Veterans Employment Exchange, which specializes in matching veterans and separating military members with open positions in the security industry. The Veterans Employment Exchange will be a key element of SIA’s 2025 efforts to strengthen veteran employment outreach, and the association plans to engage with veterans, as well as military members who are concluding their service, to drive awareness of this jobs board tool, along with providing veterans with other information and resources on security industry careers.

The Veterans Employment Exchange is designed to match veterans and separating military members with career opportunities in the security industry and is free to SIA members and all job seekers. SIA welcomes partnership and collaboration with member companies and individuals on volunteer outreach to attract veterans to careers in the security industry.

“SIA’s Veterans in Security community was launched this year with the goal of connecting veterans who may be transitioning from their military service to the civilian workforce and introducing them to opportunities within the security industry. In order to facilitate that process, SIA is pleased to partner with OpLign, LLC, to deploy its artificial intelligence-enabled software platform that helps identify, quantify, and connect this tremendous pool of qualified talent to the many open job positions that its member companies have on a daily basis,” said Jeff Huggins, chair of the SIA Veterans in Security Advisory Board; vice president, government programs and national accounts at ASSA ABLOY Door Security Solutions; and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. “This platform, developed by U.S. Special Operations veterans, is considered one of the most robust platforms of its type, with the ability to uniquely translate and correlate their MOS and AFSC military job codes directly to open job descriptions within the security field. We look forward to working closely with OpLign and the security industry to help facilitate this logical fit for veterans as stewards of our nation’s security in the future!”

SIA encourages member companies and the broader industry to participate in this effort to grow the talent pipeline and connect highly qualified veterans with career opportunities in the security industry and is looking to work with companies and their human resources or hiring decision-makers to help bring their jobs to the SIA Veterans Employment Exchange platform. SIA members will be able to take advantage of the Veterans Employment Exchange—the latest in SIA’s offerings and outreach efforts geared toward veterans—starting in 2025.

If your company is interested in learning more about the employment exchange initiative and getting involved, please contact Ron Hawkins, SIA’s director of industry relations and Veterans in Security liaison, at [email protected]. Hawkins is available to meet with interested security industry companies and their HR teams to conduct demonstrations of the new platform, and he will host a briefing about the platform for SIA members on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. EST; stay tuned for more information to come soon.

SIA’s Veterans in Security community focuses on the issues and concerns of veterans and active military members who are in—or are interested in joining—the security industry. The community offers resources, programs, and events for both veterans—as well as Guard and Reserve members—who work in the sector and actively serving military members who are planning their transition to the civilian world. SIA thanks founding sponsors ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions and ZeroEyes for their support of the SIA Veterans in Security community.

SIA Veterans in Security community membership is open to veterans, members of the Armed Forces, and supporters, both with and without direct military affiliations. Membership is free and is open to all SIA members; learn more and get involved here.

(Not a SIA member yet? You can still join and will be subscribed to Veterans in Security news and receive invitations to our events and programs, although you may not receive full member privileges.)