Workshops Help Veterans Reenter the Private Sector

Some local organizations are promoting the idea that it’s good for the economy to hire military veterans or encourage them to start businesses. One such group is the Orange County Chapter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives, which has been training military personnel who are about to reenter the private sector.

The organization has been holding workshops at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, which is due to close next year.

Most of the Marines who are leaving the service are headed for jobs, family businesses or other vocations, said Bill Gobbell, a management counselor for the organization. But about 5% are thinking about entrepreneurship in everything from restaurants to the security business. “That’s where we come in and give a presentation about how to get organized,” he said.

Interest in the program is picking up, Gobbell said, with 124 Marines attending the last session in April. He said the workshops fill an important need by educating military people about business principles and strategies. “When I got out of the Marine Corps, I was not focused,” he recalled. “I had completed four years of college and I still didn’t know what to do.”

Now retired after more than 30 years in the auto industry, Gobbell said the workshops are a way for him to give something back to the system and help prepare others for “the real business world.”

The Anaheim office of the state Employment Development Department is also sponsoring workshops for veterans and is planning a job fair in September. It teaches such skills as how to use the Internet and write a resume. “So many veterans’ resumes are filled with military jargon,” said Kathy Kral, the EDD’s local veterans employment representative. “We help them ‘civilianize’ it.”

Many veterans are getting jobs in the security business, warehousing and engineering, she said. “There is a good climate for hiring veterans,” she said. “They come out with skills and a sense of responsibility and discipline. They know how to report on time and follow the rules.”

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Patrice Apodaca covers economic issues for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-5979 and at patrice.apodaca@latimes.com.