Starbucks Will Begin Hiring Thousands Of Veterans And Military Spouses

Students taking online culinary courses will get a chance to support our troops. Starbucks, the largest coffee distributor in the world, will start a hiring campaign that seeks out veterans and their spouses, promising to recruit 10,000 servicemen and women over the next five years.

Organized by former Defense Secretary and current Starbucks board member Robert Gates, the initiative plans to use the skills the men and women gained in the military. Excellent communication, leadership and critical thinking skills are among the top qualities that the company will be  seeking.

With the high unemployment rate among veterans and the lack of financial support from the government crippling American families, Starbucks hopes that this program will alleviate some of the pressure veterans experience after coming.

“This is, in my view, not charity or philanthropy. But in fact, this is good business,” Chief Executive Howard Schultz told the Seattle Times. “These are highly skilled, highly trained people who have significant leadership capabilities, who will add value to Starbucks.”

This move is part of a company-wide expansion of its global workforce.  Starbucks’s ultimate goal is to increase its employee ranks from 200,000 to 500,000 people, and the hiring spree could not have come at a better time. Over the next few years, more than a million service people will leave the military and come back to the U.S. They will be looking for employment and local communities are more than willing to help. These men and women will transition into advisory roles designed to help challenge companies to exercise better practices and accountability.

Noteworthy Starbucks locations in Lakewood and San Antonio are involved in a veteran-focused program that promises to invest a portion of sales back into the communities where these military men and women live. Starbucks is part of Goodwill’s dual promotions called Operation: GoodJobs and Vested in Vets in which services are provided to former soldiers to help them find employment.