The United States Army will announce a new relationship with Austin-based Tokyo Electron (TEL) on Wednesday in an effort to help veterans transition into the corporate world after they leave the military.
TEL will collaborate with the United States Army's Partnership for Youth Success to link more veterans with job opportunities in the technology industry. TEL's U.S. president, Larry Smith, a veteran himself, has been working on this collaboration for months. “I’m grateful to have the opportunity and part of my calling, my passion is to help hire veterans, those that come from a similar background to me that maybe wanted to serve their country, but not make it a career. And it’s often very intimidating and fearful to understand how that experience translates to an industry like ours,” Smith explained.
The collaboration adds TEL to the list of organizations from whom new hires can pick through the PAYS program. When entering the United States Army, aspiring soldiers can choose up to five companies that have collaborated with the United States Army to interview with when positions become available.
“They’re not just training these new recruits to be in the military or a soldier, but they’re training to have the skills necessary for life. And then we fit into that, to be able to guarantee them an interview. It’s not a guaranteed job, but it gives them exposure to companies who value and I’ve had a history of hiring veterans,” Smith explained.
It’s also personal to Smith for another reason. “We’re going to celebrate this partnership on Wednesday with a friend of mine that goes back 36 years,” Smith said, referring to U.S. Army General Paul Funk. “He was the commander at Fort Hood prior to his current role. So as a three-star general, he led Fort Hood and that’s where we met and connected many, many years ago. And back in 1985, we were lieutenants together,” Smith said.
