Military & Veterans InTransition News

The U.S. is doing a better job helping veterans find work, but still more needs to be done, especially among recent vets.

In November, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics found that veterans actually had a lower unemployment rate at 3.6% than Americans overall, who faced a rate of about 5%. This reflects ongoing efforts to train members of the military with valuable job skills before they join the workforce, new initiatives by businesses and nonprofits to get veterans jobs and the changing attitudes among everyday Americans about the value that former service members bring to the workforce.

Still, there’s always room for improvement. That same report showed that the youngest cohort of post-9/11 veterans, those ages 20 to 24, had a 7.3% unemployment rate—still lower than their non-veteran peers but higher than it should be for people who sacrificed so many of their working years to serve their country.

As a former Marine who advises businesses on hiring veterans, I have seen a number of companies make a serious commitment to embracing veterans as valued employees and leaders. Microsoft Software and Systems Academy, for instance, provides formal IT training for service members before their separation date. Cisco fast-tracks transitioning military personnel through IT training and certification and has provided $2.5 million in seed money to Futures Inc., which develops sophisticated algorithms to match military job codes with civilian jobs and career paths.