Posts Tagged ‘workforce’

The House passed legislation Monday with unanimous bipartisan support to make it easier for veterans to find jobs using the skills they acquired during their military careers, the latest in a series of initiatives designed to address the high rate of veterans’ unemployment. H.R. 4155 requires federal agencies to recognize relevant military training as sufficient to satisfy training or certification requirements for federal occupational licenses. Agencies would have 180 days to streamline licensing procedures once the legislation is signed into law …

The unemployment rate for post-9/11 military veterans dropped to 9.5 percent in June, the fourth month this year the rate has been in the single digits. The figure for June may indicate a favorable trend even as the nation’s overall unemployment rate remained flat at 8.2 percent, reported Stars and Stripes. The monthly figure for recent veterans fell below 10 percent only twice from January 2010 to December 2011; the rate for young veterans was 12.7 percent in May …

There are a multitude of factors working against service members who have recently separated from the military trying to start a career in the civilian world, with most of the reasons stemming from the difficult economic environment and the unique challenges veterans face in convincing employers they have what it takes to excel off of the battlefield. In many cases, however, companies believe veterans would benefit them. “I think employers in general do get the value of hiring veterans,” said Rosalinda Maury, research director for the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. “The problem is, they can’t find them …

The Senate Friday passed legislation designed to help veterans more easily obtain licenses required for civilian jobs, the latest attempt to combat high unemployment among veterans. The 2012 Veteran Skills to Jobs Act requires federal agencies to recognize relevant military training when certifying veterans for federal occupational licenses. Agencies would have 180 days to streamline licensing procedures once the legislation is signed into law …

Pima County, Ariz., later this month will open the nation’s first career center targeted to helping military veterans gain employment and training, as well as benefits and services. The center, which will consolidate services for veterans in one place, will be a partnership of the Pima County One-Stop Career Center with the U.S. departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, the Arizona departments of Veterans Services and Economic Security, Pima Community College, the Community Partnership of Southern Arizona and other groups …

First Lady Michelle Obama joined Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday as he signed legislation making it easier for military spouses to transfer their professional licenses. At the bill signing at the Illinois National Guard Armory, Obama praised the governor for making Illinois the 23rd state to adopt legislation improving the portability of professional licenses for military spouses. “This is an eminently solvable problem …

The Oakland City Council on Tuesday approved an $830 million agreement to turn the former Oakland Army Base into a shipping and distribution facility that would serve the Port of Oakland, narrowly beating a deadline to keep a $242 million state grant. The redevelopment plan, in which the first phase will cost $484 million, will improve the ability of the port to move cargo and increase its capacity. Until Tuesday’s vote, the fate of the project was uncertain as the redevelopment engendered opposition from community groups and some city officials over various loopholes in provisions establishing hiring preferences for Oakland residents …

Workforce experts cite a variety of reasons beyond the struggling economy to explain why the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans is so high — chiefly, a lack of understanding by employers as to how service members’ experience will translate to the civilian workplace, but there are many others. Well, add one more. There are too many public and private initiatives attempting to connect companies with veterans looking for a job, according to a new study by the Center for a New American Security. A quarter of employers surveyed said they “struggled to find veterans to hire,” primarily because of the surfeit of websites and resources promoting the value of veterans, reported Forbes magazine. What is missing, according to the study, is a single database of job-seeking veterans for employers to turn to.

Many service members returning from combat overseas over the next several years will be dealing with serious medical issues such as traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, and face challenges finding housing and employment. The demand for services can be expected to overwhelm the Veterans Affairs Department, leaving much of the responsibility for supporting veterans to states and local municipalities. “[Civilians] think the VA or the Department of Defense has it covered. But when a veteran comes home, it takes a community …

With 1.5 million service members projected to depart the military over the next five years, the Labor Department wants to make sure transitioning service members are aware of the agency’s many training initiatives available to help them with their newest mission — starting a civilian career. One of the primary barriers for transitioning veterans is understanding how to market themselves. “We teach them how to translate [their military experience] to a resume and their skill sets into viable aspects so they can get a job …