“Hiring Heroes Act” to Stem High Rate of Unemployed Veterans

by Alex A. Kecskes

The unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans ages 20 to 24 is as high as 27 percent. A proposed plan called the Hiring Heroes Act of 2011 may bring down those dismal stats. It would include mandatory transition assistance courses to help prepare service members for civilian life. Each veteran would also get an individualized assessment of the civilian jobs that best relate to his or her experience and education.

Currently, such job finding services are only available to those veterans who ask for it. Under the Hiring Heroes Act, the government would be more proactive and provide these services to every veteran and would periodically contact them to see if they are employed and if they need more help. Disabled veterans would receive an additional 24 months of vocational rehabilitation and employment services if they have exhausted their unemployment benefits and vocational/rehabilitative help.

The Hiring Heroes Act is endorsed by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and the Military Officers Association of America.

Many veterans say they were not required to go through the current Transition Assistance Program (TAP). Those who went through the program noted that it wasn’t taken seriously. To make matters worse, many employers still don’t understand how military experience translates into skills they can use in their businesses. Clearly TAP isn’t getting the job done. More is needed to translate skills from the battlefield into usable civilian job skills. In addition, résumé and job interviewing skills and techniques need to be honed to make veterans more appealing to civilian employers.

For an additional perspective, check out this video: