Posts Tagged ‘military veterans’

Montana Sens. Max Baucus (D) and Jon Tester (D) have requested the departments of Labor and Veterans Affairs to demonstrate the effectiveness of programs designed to reduce veterans unemployment. The June 5 letter is a follow-up to concerns raised in a December 2012 report by the Government Accountability Office and later in a veterans jobs bill introduced by the senators in January. The report focused on six federal employment and training programs, which serve around 880,000 veterans at a cost of $1.2 billion …

The state of Texas is launching a pilot program to help returning Army veterans find employment more quickly, particularly in growing industries such the medical, energy and technology fields, the Texas Workforce Commission announced last week. The State of Texas Soldier Employment Initiative, funded through a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, is intended to develop new approaches to enhance outreach and re-employment services for Army unemployment compensation claimants …

Omaha, Neb., came in fourth among 381 metropolitan areas ranked according to their military friendly attributes. The city trailed only San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Houston, according to the list published by MilitaryFriendly.com and G.I. Jobs magazine …

The best way communities can support veterans and military families in many cases is to take advantage of the dozens of nonprofits in their area already serving those populations. While the sheer number of veterans organizations and programs already under way in a given community can be confusing and make it difficult for local officials to commit new resources to overcoming the challenges facing veterans, taking an active role often requires only that a community convene existing stakeholders and identify ways to augment services already being delivered, according to the latest article published in the Journal of Defense Communities …

The Small Business Administration (SBA) last week announced a new initiative designed to increase the availability of loans to veterans to start or expand small businesses. The SBA Veteran Pledge Initiative offers a commitment from SBA’s top 20 national lending partners and about 100 additional regional and community lending partners to help an additional 2,000 veterans obtain loans. The commitment would increase lending by $475 million over the next five years …

The number of military veterans going to college has taken off since 2009 when education benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill first became available. In 2012, 945,052 veterans used their GI Bill education benefits, up from 564,487 in 2009, according to the Veterans Affairs Department. Traditional colleges and universities have not been the biggest beneficiaries, though, as enrollment by veterans at for-profit private universities surpassed four-year public institutions in the 2009-2010 school year …

ADC has formed a strategic partnership with Walmart to support the effort by the nation’s largest retailer to provide jobs to military veterans entering the civilian workforce after serving their country. The partnership is intended to build on Walmart’s recent pledge to offer a job to any honorably discharged veteran in the year after he or she leaves active duty, a commitment the company projects will result in hiring and training more than 100,000 veterans over the next five years …

The pace at which soldiers are leaving the Army has increased at Fort Benning, Ga., this year, as the Maneuver Center of Excellence already has topped its total of 4,300 separations in 2012. Last year about 150 soldiers left each month, but now more than 200 service members are leaving the military per month, said Eddie Perez, the post’s transition services manager …

Since 2009, a group of more than 100 nonprofit organizations in San Diego has helped personnel separating from military service start their lives as civilians. The San Diego Veterans Coalition helps ensure that veterans can obtain needed health care, education, legal assistance and job counseling. About 15,000 service members leave the military each year in San Diego, reports NBC News …

Three measures intended to improve quality of life for service members, their families and veterans appear headed for passage in the South Carolina Legislature, the latest effort by Palmetto State lawmakers to support the military. The state has paid close attention to a list of 10 military-friendly policies the Pentagon is encouraging states to adopt. The policies cover issues such as the portability of professional licenses for military spouses, easing the way for personnel to receive licensing and academic credit for military training and experience, and increasing access to child care …