Helping Veterans Achieve their Employment Goals

Helping Veterans Achieve their Employment Goals
Ruth Fanning
Director, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment

As director of VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment VetSuccess program, I lead VR&E in fulfilling its mission to help veterans with service-connected disabilities and certain service members awaiting discharge due to a medical condition prepare for, find and keep suitable employment. For individuals with disabilities so severe that they cannot immediately consider work as a viable option, VR&E offers services to improve their ability to live as independently as possible.

In fiscal year 2009, more than 11,000 veterans successfully entered suitable employmentor achieved their goals of living independently at home and in their communities. 

The following are services and benefits that may be provided by VR&E to assist veterans in achieving employment goals:

• Comprehensive vocational evaluation to determine abilities, skills, interests and needs;
• Vocational counseling and rehabilitation planning;
• Employment services such as job-seeking skills, resume development, and other work readiness assistance;
• Assistance finding and keeping a job, including the use of special employer incentives;
• Training such as on-the-job, apprenticeships, and non-paid work experiences;
• Post-secondary training at a college, vocational, technical or business school; and
• Supportive vocational rehabilitation service including case management, counseling and referral.

The independent living program provides the services and assistance necessary to ensure each eligible veteran is capable, to the maximum extent possible, of living independently and participating in family and community life activities, with the added potential of eventually returning to work. 

Services/benefits may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Assistive technology;
• Specialized medical, health, or rehabilitation services;
• Services to address personal or family adjustment issues;
• Independent living skills training;
• Connection with community-based support services; and
• Services that may eventually lead to veterans considering employment on a volunteer, part-time or full-time competitive basis.

This past year, President Obama signed an executive order aimed at hiring more veterans to work in the federal government. The order calls on each federal agency to establish a veterans employment program office designed to help veterans navigate the federal application process. To comply with this mandate, federal agencies can use federal hiring authorities, non-paid work experience and on-the-job training to hire eligible veterans.

Federal hiring authorities consist of the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act, veterans recruitment appointment, veterans preference, 30 percent or more disabled veterans, disabled veterans enrolled in VA training programs—such as the VR&E program—and Schedule A. Federal agencies may also use VR&E’s non-paid work experience program in conjunction with the Office of Personnel Management’s hiring authorities to quickly employ veterans non-competitively. 

The non-paid work experience is an internship program that provides veterans an opportunity to obtain training and practical job experience and allows the federal manager to “try out” a veteran in an entry-level position. The agency has the opportunity to evaluate the veteran prior to consideration for hiring in a temporary or permanent position. VA pays the veteran a monthly subsistence allowance during the program. There is no cost incurred to the agency and no obligation to hire the veteran.

When a veteran is participating in a training program through VR&E, the employer can hire that veteran non-competitively. Employers may also hire veterans in on-the-job training positions. This allows employers to bring veterans in at the apprentice level, with a lower wage paid during the training period and the expectation of permanent journey-level wages at the conclusion of the on-the-job training if the training progresses satisfactorily during the probationary period. 

Whether hiring the veteran directly through a special hiring authority, an on-the-job position, or providing training through a non-paid work experience program, the manager also benefits from the continued involvement of the veteran’s case manager, who provides ongoing support, assistance with any job- related issues such as accommodations, and continual follow-up until the veteran is determined successfully adjusted in his or her new career.

VR&E’s new and improved Web site, www.VetSuccess.gov, allows hiring managers to post job announcements and search veterans’ resumes for qualified applicants. Veterans can also upload their resumes and search for jobs and internships posted by employers. In addition to advocating for veterans to become VA employees, VR&E also partners with federal and private sector employers to create opportunities for hiring veterans in career positions.

For more information about VR&E VetSuccess hiring programs, contact your local Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment office by calling 1-800-827-1000, or visit the Web site. 

• Helping Veterans Reach Their Employment Goals
• Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment VetSuccess
• Non-Paid Work Experience
• Federal On-the-Job Training