Pit & Quarry, August 2017
lAboR Hiring veterans Bringing former military service members into an aggregate operation is a real opportunity but employers should approach the group thoughtfully by KEVIN YANIK a number of aggregate producers have encountered the short fal l of skilled labor impacting the industry in recent years Who will fill key positions within aggregate operations in the coming years and where will the industry turn for talent The questions are becoming very real for some industry employers According to David Coe senior vice president of strategic programs at Orion International military veterans are one group to which industry employers can turn Coe who joined Orion in Cincinnati as an account executive in 2004 while continuing his service in the Marine Corps Reserve launched his firms strategic account management program in 2007 Since that time Coe has helped grow and expand the firms strategic programs service line better connecting private sector organizations with the pool of talent available in former military service members Coe studied business and marketing at Ohio University prior to serving as a Marine Corps officer He was deployed with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade to Iraq for combat operations in 2003 and he experienced firsthand the challenges former military personnel endure upon returning to the private sector Coe discussed military veterans as solutions to fill skilled labor positions during an educational session at Con Expo Con Agg 2017 in Las Vegas Pit Quarry later connected with Coe to learn more about the match between our nations veterans and aggregate operations How was your ConExpo Con Agg experience this year ConExpo Con Agg is obviously such a huge epic opportunity for so many key organizations around the industry to share new information and best practices I felt lucky to be there as did Orion as an organization I dont think another venue exists anywhere else in the construction industry where you can have conversations and literally meet with people from every corner of the industry You can learn about trends and emerging markets in such a short amount of time Anytime you get an opportunity to be a part of something like that its fantastic From our vantage point of being an organization that is 100 percent dedicated to helping military veterans and active duty service members and their families make the successful transition from serving our country in uniform back into the private sector the show is a great opportunity because we have a Life as a civilian is wonderful but its a culture shock and it does take a while to make that transition DAVID CoE 50 PIT QUARRY August 2017 pitandquarry com
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