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| Oregon Employment Department focuses services on veterans | ||
| 02/14/2005 | ||
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Networking with agencies helps returning vets CONTACT: Jim Booker Oregon Employment Department Veterans Program Coordinator (503) 947-1845 For veterans returning from the global war on terrorism, adjustment back to civilian life can have its challenges - challenges made harder if the veteran is unemployed. With more and more Oregon Guard and reserve troops returning from the conflict, the Employment Department is working to make veterans aware of the services available to them. In particular, two special programs are the focus: Hire Vets First The Jobs for Veterans Act signed into law in November of 2002, established the President’s National Hire Veterans Committee. The committee set out to link together the nation’s one stop career centers and other resources to help bring employers and veterans together. A result of that effort is a national marketing campaign and the establishment of the www.HireVetsFirst.org Web site. The Web site offers a variety of tools for the veteran looking for work, and the employer looking to hire, including help with resume writing, and a skills translator, which takes the veteran’s position and the military and matches the skills to civilian jobs. The site also provides connections to one stop career centers, where veterans can be referred to staff especially trained to meet their needs. Helmets to Hardhats Helmets to Hardhats collects information about the best career opportunities in building and construction trades and provides former military personnel with that information. Candidates can access information about careers and apprenticeships via the Internet from anywhere in the world. To apply for work or membership, each candidate must complete a comprehensive profile that helps Helmets to Hardhats refer candidates in the right direction. The program then connects the candidate with the right opportunity in the right location, serving as an advocate wherever necessary. Helmets to Hardhats is co-sponsored by all fifteen Building and Construction Trades organizations, as well as their employer associations, representing about 82,000 contractors. Labor leaders have embraced the program, eager to help U.S. soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen transfer their experience and can-do attitudes into secure jobs within the construction industry. The program is a building trades initiative administered by the Center for Military Recruitment, Assessment, and Veterans Employment. The U.S. Army administers the funding, which was made available in January 2003 to get the program off the ground. Other Services offered by the Employment Department The Oregon Employment Department working with the Secretary of Labor, through the Veterans´ Employment and Training Services (VETS), funds programs to meet the employment and training needs of veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. The purpose of the veterans’ program is to provide the maximum level of employment and training opportunities. The program provides for veteran representatives known as Local Veterans Employment Representatives (LVER) and Disabled Veterans´ Outreach Program Specialists (DVOP) located in most of the Oregon Employment Department’s field offices. These veterans’ representatives provide services such as vocational guidance; resume/application assistance; job search workshops/clubs; job development; tax credit eligibility determination; referrals to jobs, training, and/or supportive services; information on federal contract/government employment opportunities; apprenticeships; and on-the-job training. Comprehensive information on the Employment Department's Veterans' Programs can be found at www.oregon.gov/EMPLOY/ES/SEEKER/veterans.shtml . -30-
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