Verizon Again Named to BusinessWeek Magazine's List of Best Places to Launch a Career; Is Highest-Ranked Telecommunications Company on the List

Verizon has been named to BusinessWeek magazine's list of Best Places to Launch a Career, the fourth consecutive year that the company has earned the honor.  Verizon is again ranked 22nd and is the highest-ranked telecommunications company on the list.

To compile the ranking, BusinessWeek polled 60 college career-services directors across the country; collected data from a survey of 60,000 U.S. undergraduates by Universum USA, a Philadelphia research company; and required employers to submit statistics for pay and benefits, training programs and retention, and other key measurements.

Over the past few years, Verizon's employee development, education and training budget has totaled approximately $1 billion.

"To enable innovation through our advanced broadband and wireless networks that help our customers do more and empower communities, we must recruit, retain and invest in top talent," said Marc Reed, executive vice president for human resources at Verizon. "We've always provided our employees with the resources and opportunities for personal and professional growth. It's an honor for Verizon to be recognized for that commitment along with so many top companies."

(Note: A video of the opportunities for professional growth at Verizon is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlGjR1Bm4jw&feature=channel_page) 

In 2008 alone, Verizon employees logged more than 11 million training hours to advance their knowledge of a wide range of key issues including compliance, privacy and security; to learn new management techniques; and to develop the skills needed to deliver the nation's most advanced broadband networks to customers.

Also in 2008, the company invested $117 million in the education of its employees through its tuition assistance program, which pays 100 percent of approved tuition and fees, up to $8,000 per employee per year, at accredited institutions.

Verizon: an Employer of Choice

Verizon has received numerous recognitions as an employer of choice.  Most recently, Verizon earned a top ranking in the Latina Style 50, LATINA Style magazine's annual list of the best companies for Latinas to work for in the U.S. This is the seventh consecutive year that the company has been named to the list.

Earlier this year, Verizon was named to Working Mother magazine's list of Best Companies for Multicultural Women, for the fourth consecutive year.

The National Association for Female Executives named Verizon to its list of 2009 NAFE Top 50 Companies for Executive Women, which spotlights corporations with practices and employment records that benefit women and encourage their advancement to top management positions. Verizon has also consistently been named to DiversityInc magazine's list of Top 50 Companies for Diversity, earning the No. 1 ranking in 2006 and 2008.

BusinessWeek's Best Places to Launch a Career list is in the publication's Sept. 14 issue, currently on newsstands. Expanded content is available on BusinessWeek.com, including the full methodology, profiles of each employer, an interactive table, slide shows, and a video roundtable with recruiters.

For more information about Verizon's commitment to diversity, visit the company's press kit on diversity at http://newscenter2.verizon.com/kit/diversity/. 

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 87 million customers nationwide.  Verizon's Wireline operations provide converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network.  Wireline also includes Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 235,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $97 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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