Posts Tagged ‘workforce’

A new guide from Syracuse University provides employers a sustainable approach to help military veterans flourish in the civilian workplace, and should help to advance employment and economic opportunities for veterans and their families. The guide, published by the university’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families, is designed to overcome employers’ lack of understanding of the business case for hiring veterans, and the best ways to recruit and cultivate a robust veteran workforce. The report supplies employers with insight into the unique issues and challenges affecting the employment situation of veterans …

The Senate Armed Services Committee wants the Defense Department to better prepare departing service members to enter the civilian workplace or to further their education. In its report accompanying the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill, the panel encourages DOD to identify and develop methods to assess the skills and interests of departing personnel to match them with viable educational and career opportunities …

Over the past decade, service members have benefited from training in highly advanced technology, yet they still face challenges in transitioning to the civilian labor market because the private sector in many cases does not recognize their experience, according to a new report by the president’s Council of Economic Advisers and the National Economic Council. Military Skills for America’s Future: Leveraging Military Service and Experience to Put Veterans and Military Spouses Back to Work analyzes the labor market situation of America’s veterans, discusses the challenges that returning veterans and military spouses face as they seek to enter or re-enter civilian employment …

Up to 126,000 service members will be able to gain industry-recognized certifications for high-demand manufacturing jobs, under an initiative unveiled Friday by President Obama. To reach that goal, the Defense Department will establish a military credentialing and licensing task force to find new ways for military personnel to gain industry credentials for skills they’ve acquired. “So that it doesn’t cost them and they don’t necessarily have to go back to school for three years and take out a whole bunch of student loans when, potentially, they could do it quicker, more inexpensively, and get on the job faster …

Military spouses moving to Delaware will be able to obtain a provisional license in occupations requiring certification, such as dental hygienist or hairdresser, under legislation signed into law this week by Delaware Gov. Jack Markell (D). The license would allow the individual to practice their profession for six months while they apply for a new one from Delaware. The spouse is required to have a current license in another state or U.S. territory to be eligible, reported delawareonline. “Delaware is helping to make the transition as easy as possible,” said State Rep. Darryl Scott (D), the author of HB 238.

Some of the barriers preventing military spouses from maintaining a career are starting to fall, reports American Forces Press Service. Sixteen states have passed laws to improve professional license portability, while 11 others have legislation pending. Also DOD’s Military Spouse Employment Partnership recently announced it has a total of 128 employer partners that post jobs on the program’s site specifically for military spouses. The companies allow hired spouses to retain their jobs after they move. The gains are due to the efforts of DOD’s Military Community and Family Policy office, the First Lady’s Joining Forces campaign and military spouses themselves, according to the story.

In a bid to assist unemployed veterans who are no longer eligible for education and training programs, the Labor and Veterans Affairs departments are offering up to 12 months of paid training to veterans aged 35 to 60. “They may have had entitlement to education benefits at one time, but have either used them or the time frame to use them has passed,” said Curtis Coy, the VA’s deputy undersecretary for economic opportunity. “This generous new benefit geared toward this specific cohort of veterans provides them the opportunity to jump start a new career that they may not have otherwise been able to afford …

With veterans’ unemployment hovering at a record high rate and plans for 100,000 service members to leave the military over the next five years, the nation must make addressing the challenges of veterans a priority, according to a commentary in the Washington Post. Veterans offer valuable skills to employers, yet many companies do not appreciate how the skills veterans hone on and off the battlefield can benefit them. “We need to show them and offer them tools to better incorporate veterans into the workplace …

A survey released Wednesday by Blue Star Families found that 62 percent of military family members who believed their service member had exhibited signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, regardless of any official diagnosis, did not seek treatment due to doubts about the military’s support system. The finding demonstrates there is still much to be done to help service members and their families deal with the invisible wounds of war, concluded the nonprofit dedicated to supporting military families …

The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee voted Friday to move the Labor Department’s Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) to the Veterans Affairs Department, a far-reaching move that would bring together all veteran employment programs under one roof to provide greater access to programs and services for veterans. “For decades, as part of DOL, the VETS program has not been as effective as it should be and it is time to try a different approach …