Honoring and valuing the military this Veterans Day – and every day

We join others across the United States in celebrating Veterans Day this Saturday and extend our gratitude to the men and women who have served our nation as part of the U.S. armed forces.

We’re also proud of the ways our employees and the We Energies Foundation support programs for veterans (including the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight, Fisher House Wisconsin and most recently the Milwaukee Homeless Veterans Initiative through Ks for a Cause donations totaling more than $17,000) – as well as the number of employees who personally have served or are currently active military members.

“In my role in Power Generation, we recruit a number of new supervisors and have drawn quite a few from the military,” said Joe Griffin, manager – power generation support, who spent eight years as an MP in the Marines in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

Veteran and We Energies employee, Joe Griffin (kneeling, far right)
 with his unit in Liberia.

He added that veterans work in a number of departments throughout We Energies, so much so that parent company WEC Energy Group will launch a business resource group for employees in early 2018. Its mission: to provide support, networking and career development opportunities that increase the engagement and retention of employees who are veterans, are currently serving in the National Guard or Reserves, or are related to someone in either category.

“The military folks we’ve recruited have done well here,” Griffin said, explaining that it’s often an easier career transition, given the nature of the work and the company’s culture. For example, Navy veterans who worked with boilers and turbines on ships have experience and knowledge in electric power generation. Beyond that, the punctuality, integrity, work ethic, and experience with rules and regulations that military members are known for are valued qualities.

To actively recruit veterans and military members, we:

•  Provide external job postings to the Department of Workforce Development Office of Veteran Employment Services. 

• Are involved in Troops to Energy Jobs as part of the Center for Energy Workforce Development.

• Work with Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois for assistance with job fairs and other outreach efforts.

• Have contracts with a number of military recruitment firms. 

• Advertise job opportunities through sources such as vetjobs.com, showusyourstripes.org and the Center for Veterans Issues.

We’re also committed to supporting the development of veteran-owned businesses, and in 2016, were proud to receive an award from the National Association of Minority Contractors – Wisconsin Chapter for our supplier diversity initiative.

Interested in learning more about a career with We Energies? Whether you’re active military, a veteran or a civilian, you can find a career with a future.

And for those who have served – thank you.