THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
California State’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) committee has honored UST Global with ‘Pro Patria’ award for its ‘Step IT Up America Veterans’ initiative. ‘Pro Patria’ is the highest honor given to employers for support of National Guard and Reserve employees in California.
UST Global was selected for the ‘Pro Patria’ award from more than 4,000 companies considered by ESGR this year. Sajan Pillai, CEO UST Global, signed the ESGR Statement of Support as a symbol to reaffirm the company’s commitment to members of the United States Guard and Reserve, in a symbolic awards ceremony.
Sajan Pillai, CEO, UST Global, said, “With ‘Step IT Up America’, UST has pioneered a unique and sustainable technology workforce model in the United States. The Pro Patria award by the California’s ESGR committee is a testament to our efforts in supporting the veteran community. ESGR has helped with the right candidates for Step It Up America. We transform unskilled veterans into skilled technology professionals. We then offer them the opportunity to execute technology and Digital projects for Global 1,000 companies as part of UST Global’s project teams.”
Jim Combs, California Chair, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, said, “On behalf of the Secretary of Defense, the California Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) committee was proud to present UST Global the prestigious Pro Patria Award. This Award reflects the exceptional support UST Global has provided their employees who have answered and continue to answer their nation’s call to service as a member of the Guard and Reserve. UST Global has demonstrated the greatest support to veterans, Guard and Reserve employees through their leadership and enabling practices, including adopting personnel policies that make it easier for employees to participate in the National Guard and Reserve. UST Global is recognized by the Department of Defense as among the top 30 corporations in the United States. The Pro Patria is the highest level award that may be bestowed by the California’s ESGR Committee.”
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is a Department of Defense program that develops and promotes supportive work environments for Service members in the Reserve Components through outreach, recognition, and educational opportunities that increase awareness of applicable laws, and resolves employment conflicts between the Service members and their employers. ESGR promotes cooperation and a safe workplace for all Reserve Component Service Members, making them ideal candidates in the field of technology (STEM).
Launched in 2013, UST Global’s Step IT Up America program is designed to employ women and veterans in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields. The selected women and veterans go through an intensive training program on several technology areas like programming, testing, systems maintenance, support, etc. We have successfully placed hundreds of non-technology resources in projects after training, thus serving a demographic (military veterans) that has been traditionally under-represented in STEM jobs.
