Department of Labor
Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS)
Preparing Veterans for Better Jobs
VETS Mission Veterans We prepare our separating service members to transition from the military to the civilian workforce. We provide our veterans with the critical resources, expertise, and training to assist them in locating and obtaining meaningful careers. We protect the employment rights of the men and women who serve this Nation. Employers We promote the hiring of veterans through outreach to and partnership with employers.
Transitioning Service Member (TSM) Routes Student • GI Bill • Technical Training • Registered Apprenticeships
Transition GPS (TAP)
Employee • American Job Centers - Priority of Service - Gold Card/Intensive Services • Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E)
Veteran
Entrepreneur • “Boots to Business” (SBA)
Employer “Good Jobs for Veterans”
American Job Center (AJC) National Labor Exchange (NLX)
Transition GPS / TAP Transition Assistance Program The services, training, tools and support a transitioning service member needs to meet career readiness standards. Pre-Separation Counseling (DoD) - 12-18 months prior / - 24 months (retirement)
Core Curriculum: - Resilient Transitions (DoD) - MOC Crosswalk (DoD) - Financial Planning (DoD) - Employment Workshop (DOL) - Benefits Briefing (VA)
Specialized Tracks - Career Technical Training (DoD) - Assessing Higher Education (VA) - Entrepreneur (SBA)
Capstone
Transition GPS / TAP DOL Employment Workshop Consist of 7 main sections:
Key points:
1. Transition Planning 2. Career Exploration and Validation 3. Job Search Planning 4. Building an Effective Resume 5. Federal Hiring and Federal Resumes 6. Interviewing Skills 7. Post-Interviewing Analysis
Focused on mechanics of getting a job 3-days/class size: max 50 Tangible products: – – – –
Individual Transition Plan Skills assessment Job search results Resume/Cover Letters
FY 13 – 5,973 workshops – 187,037 participants
Participant post-assessment survey results indicate that the Employment Workshop is enhancing transitioning service members’ skills and confidence in their transition planning.
Employment Resources American Job Centers Student • GI Bill • Technical Training • Registered Apprenticeships
Transition GPS (TAP)
Employee • American Job Centers - Priority of Service - Gold Card/Intensive Services • Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E)
Veteran
Entrepreneur • “Boots to Business” (SBA)
Employer “Good Jobs for Veterans”
American Job Center (AJC) National Labor Exchange (NLX)
Serving Veterans & TSMs American Job Centers The Department of Labor has provided millions of veterans & TSMs with the training, assistance and support they need to find and retain good jobs and family-supporting wages. – In Program Year 2012 alone, the Department of Labor served approximately 18 million participants, including 1.4 million veterans in various programs with strong outcomes. – During that same year, nearly 500,000 veterans who were unemployed at the time of their program participation found employment within 90 days of program completion.
Priority of Service – The Jobs for Veterans Act of 2002 required DOL to provide priority of service to veterans and eligible spouses for all employment and training-funded activities.
Dislocated Workers – Service members with an ETS date may qualify for dislocated worker programs operated by AJCs. This policy increases AJC’s flexibly in serving TSMs and helps ensure services provided match the needs of individual service members.
American Job Centers = 2,518 Comprehensive = 1,693 Affiliate = 825 www.servicelocator.org
American Job Centers (AJCs) Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG) Program U.S. Department of Labor DOL’s Veterans’ Employment & Training Service (VETS)
DOL’s Employment &Training Administration (ETA)
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American Job Centers Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG) Program Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program (DVOP) Specialist
Wagner-Peyser (WP) Employment Services and WIA programs
Local Veterans’ Employment Representative (LVER)
WP/WIA Staff
Performance Reporting
State Workforce Agencies
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Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG) Program
Funds are allocated to State Workforce Agencies in direct proportion to the number of veterans seeking employment within their state. – Disabled Veterans Outreach Program specialists provide intensive services to meet the employment needs of disabled veterans and other eligible veterans with barriers to employment. – Local Veterans' Employment Representatives conduct outreach to employers to increase employment opportunities for veterans.
Most DVOPs and LVERs are located in AJCs and function within guidance provided by the Veterans Employment and Training Service.
American Job Center Partners Adult, Dislocated Worker,
and Youth Activities under WIA Wagner-Peyser Employment Service Trade Adjustment Assistance Veterans Employment and Training Programs Unemployment Insurance Job Corps YouthBuild
Senior Community Service
Employment Program Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Employment and Training Programs Native American Employment and Training Programs Vocational Rehabilitation Adult Education and Literacy Postsecondary Vocational Education Community Services Block Grant
American Job Center Job Seeker Services Veterans receive priority of service at all Department of Labor employment and job-training programs, including American Job Centers (AJCs) Post-9/11 Era Veterans are eligible to receive Gold Card services (6 months)
Core Services Determination of
eligibility for WIA and other services Outreach, intake and orientation Initial assessment of skills, abilities, aptitudes and service needs Job search and placement assistance Provision of workforce information Job placement follow-up
Intensive Services Comprehensive and
specialized assessments of skills and service needs Development of individual employment plans Employment counseling and career planning Case management Prevocational or pre-training short-term skill development services
Training Services Occupational skills
training Skill upgrading and retraining On-the-job training Workplace training combined with related instruction Entrepreneurial training Job readiness training Adult education and literacy
DOL VETS’ Competitive Grants Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) • Provides job training, counseling, and placement services to expedite the reintegration of homeless veterans into the labor force • In FY14, $38.1M for 155 HVRP grants • DOL is utilizing an online grant review process Homeless Female Veterans and Veterans with Families Program (HFVVWF) • Grantees provide supportive services to eligible homeless female veterans and homeless veterans with families • In FY14, $4.9M for 22 HFVVWF grants Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program (IVTP) • Sunset on September 30, 2013. • In PY13, $824K for 14 IVTP grants Stand-Down Grants • In FY14, $600K for 85 Stand Downs
Protecting Service Members’ Employment Rights Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) • VETS enforces U.S. veterans’ re-employment rights to return to civilian employment once tour of duty concludes • Functional integration between VETS, SOL, DOJ, and OSC that requires extensive employment law expertise • VOW Act expands USERRA enforcement to include hostile work environment to U.S. Veterans
Veteran’s Preference in Federal Employment • VETS protects veterans’ rights by investigating and attempting to resolve Veterans’ Preference complaints
VETS 100 Collaboration Between VETS & OFCCP • Requires contractors to submit annual data on U.S. Veteran hiring
Connecting Employers with Veterans Student • GI Bill • Technical Training • Registered Apprenticeships
Transition GPS (TAP)
Employee • American Job Centers - Priority of Service - Gold Card/Intensive Services • Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E)
Veteran
Entrepreneur • “Boots to Business” (SBA)
Employer “Good Jobs for Veterans”
American Job Center (AJC) National Labor Exchange (NLX)
American Job Center Employer Services
Workforce information
Job description writing
Posting of job openings
Reviewing applicants’ resumes
Skill upgrading and career ladders
Places to conduct interviews
Pre-screening of job applicants
Assessment of applicants’ skills
Referral of job-ready candidates
Organizing job fairs
Connecting Employers with Veterans
Blackstone
Veterans’ Employment Center www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits/jobs TSMs/Veterans
Employers
Veterans’ Employment Center Veterans Job Bank Skills Translator
Career Assessment
Resume Writer
VETS Priorities Increasing employment opportunities for Transitioning Service Members (TSMs) and veterans. • • • •
Introducing employers to the American Job Center (AJC) network; Increasing apprenticeship opportunities for TSMs and veterans; Improving access to skills training; and Simplifying use of education benefits for job-driven training for TSMs and veterans.
Increasing use of AJC support by TSMs and veterans, with special focus on women and Native American veterans on tribal lands. Refocusing of roles/responsibilities of AJC staff for veterans.
Special Veterans’ Populations Women Veterans Priorities
• Increase awareness of existing services • Most common findings to date: Lack of awareness of employment services Overlap of challenges Need for individual approach (one size does not fit all) • Opportunity to help her right now
Things in motion
• Engagement Partnerships to “meet her where she is” Increase awareness of existing services Ensure women veterans are represented among both populations • Analysis (behind the scenes) Unemployment rates and trends • Literature Review – WB • Evaluation of Economic and Employment Characteristics – ASP
Where we need help
• Increase awareness of existing services • Ensure inclusion among both populations • Quality research
Special Veterans’ Populations Native American Veterans Priorities • Outreach to federal/state agencies, the Native American (NA) community and other stakeholders to improve employment services and opportunities for NA veterans living on tribal lands, Alaskan villages, and Native Hawaiian Homelands. Things in motion • Conducting research to determine demographics and baseline data; and • Developing a written strategy to increase employment outreach to NA veterans. Where we need help • Analysis of legal and policy challenges for strategy development.
DOL VETS Contact / Electronic Tools Phone: 202-693-4700 Veterans Electronic Tools: DOL VETS: www.dol.gov/vets American Job Center (AJC) Locator : www.servicelocator.org Employment Center: www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits/jobs My Next Move for Veterans: www.mynextmove.org/vets My Skills My Future: www.myskillsmyfuture.org Career One Stop: www.careeronestop.org America’s Heroes at Work: www.americasheroesatwork.gov
