Agency proactively hiring veterans; Military Service Pass offers free bus and train rides
This Veterans Day, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) proudly congratulates Chief Transit Operations Officer Don Bonds on his recognition as one of Crain’s Chicago Business 2021 Notable Veteran Executives. This honor celebrates Chicago-area veterans who have positively impacted their agencies and communities and continue to assist fellow veterans in the workforce.
“A U.S. Army veteran who has risen through the CTA ranks to become one of the agency’s top leaders, Don Bonds embodies the wide-ranging skills, dedicated leadership and strong work ethic military veterans bring to our agency,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “We are proud of Mr. Bonds’ incredible accomplishments, especially his work keeping our buses and trains moving during an unprecedented public health crisis. This Veterans Day, we recognize and thank the hundreds of CTA veterans who help make our agency the backbone of the Chicagoland area.”
In recognition of the tremendous value military veterans bring to public transportation; the CTA continues to actively recruit them and showcase how their skills can be a great match for the agency. To this end, the CTA has implemented several initiatives to increase veteran recruitment and better serve existing veteran employees:
- Veteran Recruiting Events: Every year, the CTA attends multiple military and veteran based job fairs to promote career opportunities within all our respective departments, including hosting our own webinars that focus on veteran hiring and feature CTA veterans. CTA participates in events with Chicago Veterans, RollCall Chicagoland and RecruitMilitary.
- CTA Military Recruitment Website: CTA offers a military recruitment web page to provide active military personnel and veterans the ability to match their current Military Occupational Code (MOC) with respective CTA positions and career opportunities. This web page is an ideal starting place for veterans who want to know what CTA opportunities their military job might qualify them for.
- Veteran Employee Resource Group (VERG): This internal group was created to circulate up-to-date information on benefits, resources, and events specific to veteran employees. VERG also provides veteran employees with networking opportunities such as mentoring, community outreach, career development, and internal cultural awareness activities.
- Health & Wellness: CTA works closely with its health insurance provider Cigna to provide Employee Assistance Program (EAP) resources to all veteran employees and their families.
The CTA recognizes that providing essential public transit services can be a great opportunity for U.S. military veterans to positively impact their community. Many of the skills learned in the military – security, technology, training of others, vehicle operation and maintenance and more – are easily transferrable to employment opportunities available at the CTA, the nation’s second-largest public transit agency.
Prior to any vacancy posting, the CTA reviews and adjusts job descriptions, where applicable, to account for “equivalent experience,” including appropriate military experience. In addition, a veteran’s knowledge, skills and abilities are factored as equivalent work experience. This process has led to veterans working in a wide variety of CTA positions, from bus and rail operators to electricians, mechanics, customer-service assistants and more.
For more information about career opportunities at the CTA, visit www.transitchicago.com/careers/veterans/.
All active US Military personnel in full uniform and presenting their United States Armed Forces ID, or personnel and qualifying disabled veterans may ride free on CTA buses and trains – year-round - by signing up for a Military Service Pass. More information regarding who qualifies for and how to apply for a Military Service Pass can be found: www.transitchicago.com/military/.
###