If you're looking for employees for your materials handling operations, you may want to consider hiring former Marines—and the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) can help you find them.

MHIA has invited the Marine Civilian Development Program (MCDP) to make a presentation during its upcoming trade show, NA 2008. The goal is to get trade show exhibitors and attendees to enroll their companies as MCDP corporate partners so they can more easily find and hire former Marines.

The MCDP is a nonprofit group that helps Marines transition to civilian life. The heart of the program is a series of classes that offer tools and techniques for making a successful transition to the private sector. After the courses, MCDP staff members make connections between specific Marines and corporate partners who may want to hire them.

The link between MHIA and the MCDP is Allan Howie, a member of MHIA's staff who teaches a semi-annual “Fundamentals of Warehousing” class for the Marine Corps. Howie knows good materials handling employees are getting hard to find, and he believes former Marines are excellent job candidates.

“If all Marines are typical of the young people I taught in the class, then they would make outstanding employees,” says Howie. “They have an excellent work ethic. They're disciplined and attentive, as well as being quite personable. I've never enjoyed anything as much as I enjoyed working with them.”

Marine Col. Alan Will, a member of Modern's advisory board, says the Marine Corps trains warehouse and logistics personnel at all levels. Those who enter the Marines right from high school often work on the warehouse floor, processing inbound and outbound freight. Those who join the Marines with a college degree can become warehouse managers. Marines stationed at modern facilities, says Will, gain valuable experience with technologies such as conveyors, carousels, warehouse management systems, bar codes and RFID tags.

If you are interested in recruiting former Marines with logistics or other experience, you can attend the MCDP information session at 8:30 a.m. on Wed., April 23, at the NA 2008 show in Cleveland. Howie encourages you to bring a member of your company's human resources staff with you.