SYRACUSE — A Utah construction company is the newest partner in a U.S. Army program that provides young recruits with career opportunities after their enlistment or training.
Chad Sorensen, the president of Sorensen Companies, Inc., met with Army officials Tuesday at the company's headquarters in Syracuse to finalize an agreement with the Partnership for Youth Success, or “PaYS.”
PaYS is a nationwide Army recruiting program that guarantees future soldiers and ROTC cadets a job interview and possible employment with partnering companies, organizations or public administrations after they return home from service.
The program has 16 partners in Utah and 749 across the United States. Partners include city and state governments, police departments, large corporations such as Facebook and Amazon, and family-owned businesses like Sorensen. PaYS is part of an effort to "reconnect America with its Army," according to the program's website.
Recruits can sign a statement of intent to work for a partner in the program when they enlist, giving them a chance to "secure their future success" when they return from deployment or, for Army Reserve members, from basic training, according to a press release from the Salt Lake City Recruiting Battalion.
Sorensen, who learned about the program about six months ago from a friend in Army recruiting, said he is excited to offer "gainful employment" to members and veterans of the armed forces.
"We’ve just had so much success in construction with Army, Air Force, Marines," he said. "We’ve had a lot of them all.”
Capt. Villard Phillips, the commander of the Ogden Recruiting Company under the battalion, said Sorensen Companies, Inc. was the first business "in recent memory" to become a partner in the Ogden Recruiting Company's area.
Phillips said he hopes everyone can benefit from the partnership, and the Salt Lake City Recruiting Battalion's public affairs specialist Jo Cappeto agreed.
"Soldiers can get priority when they get out — they’ll be able to get a job interview that they might have not otherwise been able to get," Cappeto said, "and Sorensen will hopefully be able to hire these people with skills and training and leadership backgrounds and certifications that they’ve earned in the military."
Syracuse Mayor Mike Gailey also attended the signing ceremony.
"We're super glad that you have this relationship with the Army," Gailey said. "What a great thing, to provide training and opportunities to people who defend us."