March 21, 2014 – Great news for our honored military veterans? a whopping 20% of employers said that they are now planning to actively recruit and hire more military veterans! Majority of these jobs will be in the general business sector along with sales and customer service jobs.
Even better news, all this is great timing since the Department of Defense has recently announced continued downsizing plans for our military ranks. The Army alone will shrink from 550,000 active personnel to 430,000. Not to mention, rumors suggesting even additional cuts in the 350,000 range in 2015. In fact, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said, ?we cannot shrink the size of our military fast enough.?
So where are all of military veterans going to find jobs in a stubborn labor force?
There may be some hope in the Vietnam Era Veterans? Readjustment Assistance Act. This law requires federal government contractors to hire military veterans by required timely benchmarks. Many believe that this is a precursor for civilian employers to step up hiring veterans as well.
As of now there are several key employers who lead the charge for hiring military veterans. They are USAA, Union Pacific Railroad, Verizon, Combined Insurance and Booz Allen to name only a few.
Several nonprofits are springing up to help the cause. For example, the American Jobs For America?s Heroes assists civilian employers in hiring up to 1,000 Army National Guard veterans. Naturally, all services that they provide are free to both the employer and the military veteran.
Help For Employers To Find Military Veterans For Hire
The great news for civilian employers is that military veterans are disciplined, eager to work, team players and can work under pressure. Not only that, but the government will pay for their college education all-the-while they?re working and becoming an asset for the employer?s business. Again, employers pay nothing, but reaps all the educational benefits. One great place to post employer jobs for military veterans is USMilitary.com Veterans Job Board.
How Bad Is Unemployment For Veterans?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently announced that the nation?s unemployment rate was 6.7% compared to 9.2% for Gulf War Era II veterans (9.0% for males and 9.9% for females). Clearly, there is more work that needs to be done to find quality jobs and careers for our veterans.
In closing, there are many reasons for civilian employers to hire our military veterans. Patriotism is naturally one of them, but this is all but meaningless if the employee is not a producer. But this is not typical. In an ?entitlement? society whereas both employer and employees expectations are not always met, the military veteran shares his or her proven and documented work ethic that no other prospective employee can provide. Who else signs up to work anywhere, anytime and risks their well-being or life for their career!
Veterans are trained to meet diversity and are solution orientated. Their leadership, teamwork skills and disciplined grateful attitudes are all a bonus. Huge bonus!
Thank you for covering this important story – employing National Guard and veterans is a top priority for America! One correction – the American Jobs for America’s Heroes campaign is a working with 1,000+ employers – not hiring 1,000 National Guard members – in collaboration with the NGEN and non-profit employment counselors to connect posted jobs with qualified and available National Guard members, veterans and spouses. More information is available online at centerforamerica.org. Todd Young, Chief Operating Officer, Center for America (coordinator for the American Jobs for America’s Heroes campaign alliance of non-profit orgs and private sector employers)