Washington Gets Serious About Veteran Unemployment
Saturday, October 01, 2011
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by
Ann Pace
For transitioning and wounded military service members, job
help is on the way.
Last summer, 1 million United States military veterans were
unemployed, and another million will return to the workforce over
the next five years, according to Obama administration officials.
Many of these veterans are finding that their military skills do
not qualify them for civilian jobs, and they need specialized
training and education to procure meaningful postservice
employment.
The federal government is launching a variety of initiatives to
help military veterans qualify for and find jobs. The Department of
Defense and the Department of Veteran Affairs have developed a new
taskforce that will ensure that veterans receive the skills they
need through training such as a reverse boot camp.
Additionally, the Department of Labor will ensure that established
one-stop career centers assist veterans with their job searches.
Well make it easier for veterans to go to their local, one-stop
career center and get help pursuing a career that fits them best,
says President Obama. These steps will help bridge part of the gap
between veterans looking for work and companies looking to hire.
To further ignite the private sectors interest, the administration
is providing incentives through the Returning Heroes and Wounded
Warriors tax credits for firms that hire unemployed veterans.
Congress also is uniting its efforts to aid recovering, unemployed
service members. The Congressional Wounded to Work Caucus is a
bipartisan effort that plans to help injured military members
obtain internships and take part in work-study programs, even as
theyre rehabilitating. The caucus will identify legislative and
legal barriers to transitioning veterans and will work with
existing business and education programs to create viable job
training and employment opportunities for these individuals.
We will continue to work through this public-private partnership so
that these wounded men and women can plug back into society, says
Congressman Mike Conaway (R-TX), co-founder of the caucus. They
have a great heart for this country and want to be productive,
contributing citizens. Helping them to transition from the military
into meaningful employment is one way to do so.
Washington Gets Serious About Veteran Unemployment
Ann Pace
2011-10-01