SJI, Army partner on recruitment program

SJI has joined the U.S. Army — in a recruitment partnership, that is. 

On Sept. 22, the Folsom-based energy infrastructure holding company announced its participation in the Partnership for Your Success program, which was designed to create a “talent pipeline” between the Army and U.S. companies for hiring military personnel. 

As part of the effort, participating soldiers may select up to five partner employers and will be guaranteed job interviews.  

Before a ceremonial signing of a memorandum of understanding Thursday, Lt. Col. Dion Hall, commander of the Mid-Atlantic Army Recruiting Battalion, delivered a keynote address. Hall was joined by Army veteran Adam McLaughlin, who is the senior director of regional operations at SJI subsidiary Elizabethtown Gas. 

“Support of the PaYS program will help me reassure soldiers’ parents that the Army reinvests in their sons and daughters, while preparing them for the future,” Hall said. 

McLaughlin, who served from 1989 until 2004 and is a combat veteran of Afghanistan, added that SJI “not only recognizes the importance of supporting our troops, but we also understand the benefits” of hiring service men and women who have the “skills necessary to drive innovation, which is just what we’re looking for.”

In addition to the PaYS program, SJI also: 

• Established the Veterans Engagement Team in 2020, which supports veterans in the South Jersey Gas and Elizabethtown Gas service territories;
• Holds an annual food drive to support military families (in 2022, VETS helped collect nearly 4,900 pounds of food);
• Hosted its first Veterans Career Fair in November 2021, which SJI plans to make an annual event. 

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