Written by Brynt Parmeter, Senior Director, Military & STEM Programs, Walmart
Walmart, the largest employer in the country, is leading the frontline of the STEM workforce by hiring the brave, the strong and the always faithful: The Armed Forces, past and present.
At the end of May, Walmart is launching its Find-A-Future-Platform, aimed at helping transitioning service members, veterans, and military spouses figure out where they’re at now professionally, where they can get to in the future, and how to build a pathway to make that future a reality. This program focuses on a relationship-based approach to find the future that best suits those who have served our country.
Dedication to the Armed Forces and to STEM isn’t new for Walmart. Last year, Walmart completed its very successful Veterans Welcome Home Commitment, guaranteeing a job offer to any eligible, honorably discharged U.S. veteran, hiring more than 265,000 veterans over seven years as part of that goal.
With the recent pandemic, Walmart learned quickly the need to dramatically ramp up its STEM workforce. “It is important as a company, in every community we serve, to think much more broadly about STEM in order to best take care of our customers, our communities, and our Associates,” said Brynt Parmeter, Senior Director, Military & STEM Programs for Walmart.
Parmeter, a 20-year military veteran, worked in the high-tech sector before heading up these programs at Walmart. “When we think about STEM, most people go right to the T for technology, for us it’s much broader. It’s about healthcare, and providing medical services to our customers, it’s about supply chain and providing resources to people when they need them.”
It is also about eCommerce. Walmart’s eCommerce business grew at an incredible rate over the last year. That level of omnichannel interaction required a range of STEM savvy employees from entry level to executives. Walmart expects this tremendous appetite for people with a STEM mindset to only increase in the future.
40% of military occupations are STEM related which provides us an opportunity to reach a near constant supply of STEM capable men and women, and Walmart is thrilled to play matchmaker. “You have the demand signal, and a talent pool of smart and motivated people who thrive in high stress, complex, and ambiguous situations, and know how to resolve problems with very solid solutions,” said Brynt Parmeter. “Increasing our STEM workforce with veterans is not an act of philanthropy, it is business imperative for a more well-rounded team.”