Northrop Grumman Hosts Business Leadership Network Symposium to Explore Workplace Diversity and Help Wounded Veterans Find Jobs

FALLS CHURCH, Va., Nov. 18, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Consistent with the company's commitment to diversity and long-standing support for wounded veterans transitioning to the civilian job market, this week Northrop Grumman Corporation NOC hosted the DC Metro Business Leadership Network (DC Metro BLN) Business-to-Business Symposium at the company's corporate office in Falls Church. Nearly 100 corporate, government, nonprofit and BLN members representing dozens of companies and organizations participated in the symposium, titled "Disabled Veterans & Wounded Warriors Outreach: Recruiting, Retaining, Realities and Resources—A Private-Public Day of Discovery."

Ismael Ortiz, Jr., Acting Assistant Secretary of Veterans' Employment and Training Services (VETS), gave the keynote address, highlighting the commitment the government and industry have made to assist the heroes returning from the global war on terror to re-enter civilian life.

"This exciting symposium brought together government, business leaders and other stakeholders who shared best practices, lessons learned and identified available resources designed to aid the very successful transition of wounded warriors and disabled veterans into the private sector," said Ortiz.

"We believe that creating a work force and a workplace that values diversity and fosters inclusion is pivotal to promoting innovation, increasing productivity and maximizing performance," said Bob Waters, vice president of human resources strategy and talent acquisition. "This symposium really showcased the benefits of government and industry coming together to share successes and learn from each other."   

Committed to shattering stereotypes and developing programs and resources to support military veterans as they transition to civilian life, symposium highlights included:

• Panels showcasing promising hiring and retention practices for employers with representatives from both government and industry participating
   
• A wounded-warrior panel providing first-person insight from veterans on the best post-military transition practices
   
• A Student Veterans of America discussion about providing military veterans with the resources and advocacy needed to obtain higher education and support following graduation. http://www.studentveterans.org/
   
• A presentation highlighting the realities of Traumatic Brain Injury & Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
   
• Military to Medicine, INOVA Health System's innovative program to transition military personnel to medical careers http://www.militarytomedicine.org/

Exhibits were staffed with representatives from several organizations, including:

• Northrop Grumman's Operation IMPACT (Injured Military Pursuing Assisted Career Transition), an initiative providing career transition support to military service members who have been severely injured in combat, and their families   http://www.northropgrumman.com/operationimpact/faq.html)
   
• VETS Success http://vetsuccess.gov/
   
• The Job Accommodation Network http://askjan.org/
   
• Student Veterans of America http://www.studentveterans.org/about/

DC Metro Business Leadership Network is an employer-led nonprofit that uses a business-to business model offering education, training programs and resources to change attitudes and address concerns of businesses so that they learn how to proactively include people with disabilities in the workforce, marketplace and supplier diversity. DC Metro Business Leadership Network is an affiliate member of the U.S. Business Leadership Network www.dcmetrobln.org

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.