Google's Nick Zakrasek: New Tool Helps Military Vets Find Real World Jobs
*By Carlo Versano*
Google is using its mountain of search and personal data to match military veterans with jobs they might not even know exist.
Starting Tuesday, vets and their spouses can search "jobs for veterans" and enter their unique military occupation codes to find custom listings that correspond to skills they've acquired in the military.
Nick Zakrasek, the co-founder of Google for Jobs, said the goal of the [new tools](https://grow.google/programs/veterans-commitment/) was to make the transition to civilian life "just a little bit easier" for veterans, many of whom have have [lamented] (https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171109005412/en/ZipRecruiter-Call-Duty-Endowment-Release-National-Report) the difficultly in finding jobs that properly match their skills.
"One of the reasons this kind of tool hasn't existed at scale before is because it's hard to do this mapping," Zakrasek said.
For example, Zakrasek pointed out a former soldier may not realize that the skills he or she learned on duty fit the requirements of a role like "Disaster Preparedness Coordinator." This new tool aims to fill those gaps.
Separately, Google's non-profit arm is also donating $2.5 million to the USO for job training and scholarship purposes, Zakrasek said. That will fund a certificate program in partnership with the online learning center Coursera that will teach IT skills to veterans. The program has a direct pipeline to large employers like Bank of America and Google itself, companies that are "eager and willing" to hire vets, Zakrasek added.
Since 2003, roughly 250,000 service members have left the military [each year], and the need for employment assistance ranks higher than the need for assistance with physical or mental health (https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2017/Zogas_Veterans'%20Transitions_CoW_2.1.17.pdf).
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/google-rolls-out-tools-to-help-veterans-find-jobs).
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.
