Good News for a New Generation of Vets!

This is the 21^st century, and the world (and workplace) is changing.  We’ve been a country at war for most of the last decade. As a result, we have veterans that every age, from teens to senior citizens, and many of these are combat veterans with the multiple tours in the Middle east.

While our Vietnam and WWII vets are watching the evening news, they are witnessing an entire new generation of vets emerge right before their eyes. This new generation is highly skilled, adaptive, educated, and poised to lead us into the future, and you’re part of it!

We are in a new era with almost unlimited new opportunities. The millions of “new” veterans will continue to thrive and prosper at virtually every level of society and the modern workplace. For example, in the last 10 years numerous veterans have left the military and used their military skill sets to land jobs with defense contractor agencies such as Kellogg Brown and Root. In 2009, President Obama passed legislation to create Veterans Program offices in every federal agency, and to promote hiring more vets. For more information, check out the Department of State’s veterans website here. Finally, more and more private organizations are realizing the benefits of hiring veterans as well.

As you know if you’ve been reading this blog, I’m a vet myself and I’ve been out of the Army for only a few years. The unit I went to Iraq with in 2005 (God Bless the Triple Deuce!), just got back to the sandbox for a second tour. I’m not with them because  I made my own transition a couple of years ago. The longer I’m on the outside looking in, the more proud I am of what I did, and what so many of you have done and continue to do. On top of that, I work closely with veterans (from E1 to 3-star Generals) on their career transition goals, and I am both humbled and inspired on a daily basis.

Here at CareerPro, we’re always looking for more ways to help, inform, and empower veterans, so here’s the latest …

An estimated one million veterans are currently unemployed, with another million expected to leave the military between now and 2016 (according to the folks at FederalDaily.com). And just last week President Obama proposed even more initiatives aimed at improving employment opportunities for veterans.

* First, he proposed a Returning Heroes Tax Credit for businesses that hire unemployed veterans. Under this program, businesses could receive a maximum credit of $2,400 for every short-term unemployed veteran they hire, and $4,800 for every long-term unemployed veteran they hire. Sounds like a pretty good incentive, and good news for veteran job seekers.

* Additionally, he proposed boosting the Wounded Warriors Tax Credit for businesses that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities who have been  unemployed long-term, up to $9,600 per veteran. This can only help our wounded warriors to make smooth transitions back into the workplace.

* The Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs will also be leading a new task force to help exiting service members get the kind of training, education and  credentials they need to transition into the civilian workforce or pursue higher education. This would include a “Reverse Boot Camp” concept to provide extended career counseling and guidance.

* The Department of Labor will develop and launch an “enhanced career development and job search service package” for transitioning vets.

* The Office of Personnel Management will create a “best practices” guide to help private-sector companies identify and hire more vets.

* Finally, President Obama has challenged businesses to commit to hire or provide training to 100,000 unemployed veterans and spouses by the end of 2013. A number of major U.S. firms, including Microsoft, AT&T and Lockheed Martin, have already committed to the program. Wink, wink, you might want to apply to those …

I hope you all realize how much you have to offer. You are a veteran of the world’s greatest military force in the world’s most technoligically advanced era. Don’t let the shaky economy or high veteran unemployment rate deter you from your mission: to find and secure the job you want, and then chart a course to achieve all of your career and life goals!

After what you’ve accomplished in the military, no adversity can hold you back. The programs I’ve highlighted here show you that it’s not just companies like CareerPro trying to help vets… the president himself is taking action to get more vets into the federal and private workforce.

So what are you waiting for? Get your resume done, set your sights on a job, expect the very best, and move out smartly!

Until next time, in support of you –