From left to right, Bryan Administration Chief of Staff Karl Knight, Lt. Gen. Maria Gervais, and Div. of Personnel Director Cindy Richardson.
Lieutenant General Maria Gervais, deputy commanding general and chief of staff of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, on Friday introduced the Partnership for Your Success Program (PaYS), a collaboration with the Virgin Islands' Division of Personnel, aimed at ensuring employment opportunities for veterans after their service.
“When you hire a veteran, you're getting an individual who understands discipline, established values, you'll also get someone who is trustworthy, who you want to have on your team,” said Lt. Gen. Gervais.
The program guarantees soldiers interviews and possible employment after leaving the Army. “It allows us to connect our soldiers to the civilian workforce, provides employers with a pool of highly skilled, credentialed, motivated and responsible prospective teammates, and the army benefits by gaining valuable industry partners who acknowledge that the army is a quality producer of skilled employees,” said Lt. Gen. Gervais. She described the program as a way to connect both soldiers and employers with opportunities neither party may have known exist, ways to ensure that highly skilled and trained veterans have the chance to utilize their transferable skills once they are back in the civilian world.
Partnering with the Division of Personnel in this manner was a logical step, said the senior Army official. “The Virgin Islands government has a need for expertise in so many things such as administration, law enforcement, construction, transportation, signal management, and the list goes on. And the Veteran Center is transitioning the soldiers that are transitioning out and these veterans, they have those skill sets, and they're looking forward and they're hungry to apply,” Lt. General Gervais remarked, noting that 75 veterans came home to the Virgin Islands last year alone.
“A majority of these proud Virgin Islanders were enlisted with the top skills coming out - our quartermaster (so think logistics supply), mechanics, transportation, signal, and also aviation. They're all trained, they're all disciplined, and they're all credentialed,” she declared.
On behalf of the Government of the Virgin Islands, Director of the Division of Personnel Cindy Richardson expressed her delight with the partnership. “Here at the GVI, we recognize the importance of supporting our returning soldiers as they reintegrate into the workforce,” she said. “We are confident that the government of the Virgin Islands as an employer will benefit from having returning veterans as employees as they bring with them their skills, professional work habits, pride and personal integrity that their military background provides,” Ms. Richardson continued, noting that the program aligns with the government’s efforts to attract more skilled workers to the territory.
The ceremony closed with the enlistment of the Army’s newest soldier Jaye Whipper, who made an initial six-year enlistment commitment when she took her oath on Friday.
