Veterans and active military members use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family. In fact, more than 900,000 people in the US participate in more than 2,000 groups for military members, veterans and their spouses on Facebook.
Today, ahead of Veterans Day, we’re introducing a new resource for military members and veterans to help them continue to build their community, find job opportunities and enhance their digital skills through Facebook. The Military and Veterans Hub will provide online safety tips, resources for finding jobs and digital skills training through a new partnership with SCORE.
“There are many resources and tools across Facebook aimed at helping veterans, like the Military recruiting page and the Jobs Tool,” said Frank Diaz, a veteran and owner of Tin Hut BBQ. “This Military and Veteran Hub is going to make it a lot easier for veterans to access these tools by consolidating all of these resources in one place. As a veteran who hires other veterans for my business, I know that it’s going to be immensely helpful to veterans-run or affiliated businesses all over the US.”
Teaming up with SCORE
At Facebook, we’re always looking for ways to support the military and veteran community. That’s why we’re partnering with SCORE, the nation’s largest network of volunteer expert business mentors to provide education and mentorship to military members, veterans and their families who want to become entrepreneurs.
This program includes:
- A mentor match that connects military members and veterans with a cohort of SCORE’s experienced business mentors who are also US veterans.
- A veteran-focused educational toolkit for launching a business, including steps for developing a business plan.
- Veteran-focused interactive workshops for guidance on starting a business. SCORE’s veteran mentors will also be available to all attendees after the workshop for continued support through all stages of startup and growth.
“We are grateful for all that our nation’s veterans have done for us, and are proud to help veterans and their families who want to start their own business,” said Bridget Weston, CEO of SCORE. “Data shows that entrepreneurs with access to a mentor are five times more likely to succeed in business, and we’re excited to be working with Facebook to provide our veteran community with the support and guidance they need to succeed.”
Supporting Veteran-Owned Businesses
The new hub and partnership with SCORE build on our ongoing support of the military and veteran community. In the past month, we’ve held events for the veteran community such as Boost with Facebook in San Diego where we trained more than 1,400 people on how to use our digital tools and a Boost Leaders Network event to support military and veteran businesses in Hawaii.
New AR/VR Program for Veterans Seeking Job Opportunities at Facebook
We’re launching a 12-month career development pilot program focused on AR/VR Silicon Engineering for veterans with a background in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or Computer Science in order to help us solve global challenges.
In addition, we offer a Military Skills Translator to help people find Facebook careers relevant to their military experience. We also support our veteran employees through internal mentorship programs, groups and, for the first time this year, an internal Facebook Vets and Allies Leadership Summit.
Explore our new Military and Veterans Hub to learn more about the free tools and resources we offer.