Honor the Troops by Hiring Them

[kpete]

Honor the Troops by Hiring Them
MAY 30 2011, 9:00 AM ET7
The unemployment problem facing young veterans demands this country's immediate attention
...........

The Department of Labor reported in April that 10.9 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans are currently unemployed, a full two percentage points higher than the national average. An internal survey of IAVA members suggests that number is actually much higher at 20 percent. By now, it's well known that the veterans of this generation won't be getting a welcome-home parade. Most have come to accept this after 10 years. But it's a travesty that so many are coming home to an unemployment check.

These numbers show that employers are shying away from hiring veterans. Sometimes, years of military training and certificates don't perfectly translate to a civilian marketplace. Other times, if that candidate is still in the National Guard or Reserves, the employer cites concerns about future deployments. And still other times, it's that tired old stereotype of the crazed vet afflicted with PTSD.

IAVA's goal is to lower the high unemployment number by Veterans Day, and we need help. There are two components—the public and the private. First, Congress needs to stop bickering and do its job. They must pass legislation that requires transitional assistance for all service members leaving the military, strengthens the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), and creates tax incentives for employers that hire veterans. But government can only do so much in creating a hiring environment friendly to veterans.

The private sector is where jobs will come from. So it's time for the Fortune 500 to do their part for America. The number of unemployed Iraq and Afghanistan vets is less than 300,000. That's a totally scalable number. Companies that have the foresight to hire vets won't just be capitalizing on national goodwill, they'll be investing in dynamic, tech-savvy men and women who don't quit....

the rest:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/05/honor-the-troops-by-hiring-them/239609/

[itsrobert]

1. Anyone in Carlsbad, San Diego, I available for work

Air Force Vet. 26 years of service. Please PM.

[Lisa0825]

2. AMEN!

As an HR person, I do what I can by recommending candidates, but I can't force a hiring manager to interview anyone I send to them. I wish there were more of an incentive to encourage hiring our vets. The trouble is that while they were working hard to protect us, they were mainly performing job duties unrelated to most civilian jobs. Then, especially in a market like this, hiring managers can pick from multiple people with directly related experience, so they look past the military experience. As a daughter of a vet, this drives me up the wall!