Labor Department announces overhaul to veterans program

Labor Department announces overhaul to veterans program
by Laura Phelps, Medill News Service for UPI.com on 11/07/11

WASHINGTON — Foreshadowing a larger announcement close to Veterans Day next week, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis released data Thursday that indicated a large spike in unemployment among African-American veterans.

At the same time, she announced that the Labor Department is reworking the curriculum in its veterans’ employment workshop program after 19 years, which Solis said was “long overdue.”

“We know from experience that military skills are invaluable in the civilian workforce but we need to do better at connecting these young men and women to employers,” she said.

The new curriculum is being tested at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, the naval base in Norfolk, Va., Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and the U.S. Army post at Fort Bragg, N.C., Solis said details on the new program will be released next week as part of Veterans Day events.
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Veterans Struggling to Find Employment
Employers wary of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder
Zack Stieber
Epoch Times Staff
NEW YORK—News of growing military suicide rates is making it hard for many troops to find a job after returning home.

“What’s happening now is employers are looking at veterans who are coming back and saying ‘you’ve been in combat, you must have a problem. Are you safe to be an employee?’” said Barry Searle, director of national security and foreign relations for American Legion, in a recent interview with The Epoch Times.

With post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rates soaring across the nation, vets are being branded a risky hire, says Searle, “But to brand everyone who is coming back as having a problem is not on the basis of fact.”
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