Mentoring Offered At BAMC
Doug Shupe, KSAT 12 News Reporter
SAN ANTONIO -- Robert Giles spent 24 years in the Air Force and now wants to transition his personnel relations skills into a civilian job.
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"You've been in the military all this time, you're afraid to walk out of the gate. You're kind of apprehensive about that," he said.
That's why Enable America, a Florida-based nonprofit group, began a mentoring program to give disabled veterans real-life work experience that could lead to employment.
"What we find after every mentoring day, we have the mentors say, 'I don't even know this person was disabled', and we have the mentee say, 'They looked at me for my ability and not my disability,'" said Steve LaBour, executive director for Enable America.
Clark/Hunt Construction provided the mentors so veterans could learn all aspects of construction, from safety in the field, to contracts, change orders and payroll in the office.
"We want to give them the opportunity to say, 'Is this what I want to do? Is this not what I want to do?' We want to make sure it's a good fit," said Kurt Stahl, construction manager for Clark/Hunt.
On Thursday, 13 veterans with disabilities teamed up with mentors. It's the second time Enable America partnered with Clark/Hunt Construction. The last time they did so in November, one veteran got a job.
This kind of mentoring will give people like Giles skills, networking opportunities and empowerment to land a job.
"It will definitely be a confidence boost, and I appreciate that," Giles said.
San Antonio businesses that would like to offer similar mentor programs can log on to Enable America or call 1-877-362-2533. |
