Veterans’ Employment

and Training Service (VETS)

Department of Labor

Preparing Veterans for Better Jobs

VETS Mission

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.

We prepare our separating service members to

transition from the military to the civilian workforce.

We promote the hiring of veterans through outreach

to and partnership with employers.

Employers

Veterans

Transitioning Service

Member (TSM) Routes

Student• GI Bill

• Technical Training

• Registered

Apprenticeships

Employee

• American Job Centers

- Priority of Service

- Gold Card/Intensive

Services

• Vocational Rehabilitation

and Employment (VR&E)

American Job

Center (AJC)

National Labor

Exchange (NLX)

Veteran

Transition

GPS (TAP)

Employer

Entrepreneur• “Boots to Business” (SBA)

“Good Jobs for Veterans”

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

The services, training, tools and support a transitioning service

member needs to meet career readiness standards.

Transition GPS / TAP

Transition Assistance Program

Transition GPS / TAP

DOL Employment Workshop

Consist of 7 main sections:

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

Key points:

� 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

Employee

• American Job Centers

- Priority of Service

- Gold Card/Intensive

Services

• Vocational Rehabilitation

and Employment (VR&E)

American Job

Center (AJC)

National Labor

Exchange (NLX)

Veteran

Transition

GPS (TAP)

Employer

Entrepreneur• “Boots to Business” (SBA)

“Good Jobs for Veterans”

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

DOL’s Veterans’ Employment

& Training Service (VETS)

DOL’s Employment &Training

Administration (ETA)

State Workforce Agencies

Jobs for Veterans State Grant

(JVSG) Program

Wagner-Peyser (WP) Employment

Services and WIA programs

Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program (DVOP) Specialist

Local Veterans’ Employment

Representative (LVER)WP/WIA Staff

U.S. Department of Labor

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American Job Centers

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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

� 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

� 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

� 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

Intensive ServicesCore Services Training 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)

� 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

DOL VETS’

Competitive Grants

� 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

Protecting Service Members’

Employment Rights

Connecting Employers

with Veterans

Student• GI Bill

• Technical Training

• Registered

Apprenticeships

Employee

• American Job Centers

- Priority of Service

- Gold Card/Intensive

Services

• Vocational Rehabilitation

and Employment (VR&E)

American Job

Center (AJC)

National Labor

Exchange (NLX)

Veteran

Transition

GPS (TAP)

Employer

Entrepreneur• “Boots to Business” (SBA)

“Good Jobs for Veterans”

American Job Center

Employer Services

� Workforce information

� Job description writing

� Posting of job openings

� Reviewing applicants’ resumes

� Organizing job fairs

� Skill upgrading and career ladders

� Places to conduct interviews

� Pre-screening of job applicants

� Assessment of applicants’ skills

� Referral of job-ready candidates

Connecting Employers

with Veterans

Blackstone

Veterans’ Employment Center

Veterans’ Employment Center

TSMs/Veterans

Skills

Translator

Career

Assessment

Resume

Writer

Employers

Veterans

Job Bank

www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits/jobs

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.

� 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

Women 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.

Special Veterans’ Populations

Native American Veterans

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

DOL VETS

Contact / Electronic Tools