The story, from American Forces Press Service (8/5/11)
Obama announces veteran workforce initiatives
The president proposed a set of tax credits for companies hiring veterans, announced a new task force to develop reforms that will help service members transition to civilian jobs or higher education, and challenged industry to hire more veterans.
“Today's veterans are Americans who have done their duty,” the commander in chief said. “They have fought our wars with valor, from the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of Iraq to the mountains of Afghanistan.”
But many of those veterans find when they leave service that their military skills don’t qualify them for civilian jobs, the president said.
As of June, a million veterans were unemployed, and the jobless rate for post-9/11 vets was 13.3 percent, administration officials said. Another million veterans will return to the civilian workforce over the next five years, they said.
ROA has been a long time advocate for the rights of service members and their civilian employers. See the employment highlights of ROA’s legislative agenda below:
Employer Support:
- Continue to enact tax credits for health care and differential pay expenses for deployed Reserve Component employees.
- Provide tax credits to offset costs for temporary replacements of deployed Reserve Component employees.
- Support tax credits to employers who hire service members who served in the Global War on Terrorism.
Employee Support:
- Permit delays or exemptions while mobilized of regularly scheduled mandatory continuing education and licensing /certification/promotion exams.
- Continue to support a law center dedicated to USERRA/SCRA problems of deployed Active and Reserve service members
You can find detailed information on ROA’s advocacy initiatives focusing on employment along with a comprehensive listing of employment resources on our Current Issues Page.
1 comment:
This is the right direction that we need to go - for those that have gone the distance for all of us. I like this program because it bridges the transition back into the workforce and civilian life, and honors the dedication of our military members by giving them a focused attention - and backs it up with action.
It is very tough to equate military knowledge and skills with those found in the civilian world. I remember when I made the transition myself, after completing 485 units of correspondence courses in the Army, and they really did not get a second look from the college transfer office or prospective employers. Granted, Avionics and Special Forces courses do not easily translate into the modern-day workforce.
I do know that the skills that have been forged through comaraderie and discipline bred through military life does. Employers need a new ranking system devoted to finding parity between these two very different worlds.
However, there are some employers who understand and extend themselves to assist various Veteran organizations, such as Siemens (where I work), and A.T.& T. (did work), with organizations such as American Corporate Partenrs (ACP). ACP helps Veterans through mentoring, and career counseling.
Finding these types of programs gives - what I like to call - an 'affirmative action' program for Veterans - and this is the very least that we can do to provide for those who have given so very much to all of us.
Regards,
Adam - Former Army Soldier of the Year
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