The nation’s largest railroad is becoming a partner with the U.S. Army. Today (Friday) at the headquarters of Union Pacific, spokesman James Barnes says railroad and military officials will announce a job-opportunity program called PaYS. That stands for the “Partnership for Youth Success,” and it outlines a program that during the recruiting stage, aims to benefit the longterm future of a young person being asked to join the military.
He says the program offers a headstart at applying for a job once their Army service is complete. The companies taking part in the program have decided they like the idea of applicants coming off a term of military service with proven skills, discipline, teamwork and other experience.
Another Iowa partner already in the PaYS program is John Deere. The railroad has job openings for people with skills like diesel mechanics and electricians as well as management, and the people transitioning out of the army will have an opportunity to apply for those jobs.
They’ll still have to go through the normal interviewing process. He says, ‘It’s not a slam-dunk that they will actually get a job with us, but our participation in the army PaYS highlights a longstanding tradition of excellence that helps us recruit dedicated and motivated former military employees…” He says the company wants to be the “employer of choice” for veterans leaving military service for the private sector.
The program doesn’t necessarily mean the recruits will be treated any differently while they’re in the armed forces, though they’ll get an explanation of the skill-sets they may want to pick up. Some jobs they have in the military will prepare them closely for some jobs at the railroad. For example, a soldier might work as a diesel mechanic repairing truck engines and the Army even has its own train service, so if the young soldier gets into that kind of work they’ll finish their military career with “very strong skillsets for the jobs that Union Pacific has available.”
The ceremony, planned for this day before Veterans Day, includes a ten A.M. commemorative signing at the Western Heritage Museum and will feature the commander of the Des Moines Army Recruiting Batallion and a Union Pacific dispatcher who, as an Army Reservist, helped oversee the restoration of Iraqi train service in 2003.
Related web sites:
Army PaYS program