Transitioning from a military position into a civilian career can be difficult, as evident by the high level of unemployment for veterans. Younger veterans are having an especially difficult time finding employment, with average 2013 unemployment rates of 9.1% for veterans 25- to 34-years-old and 21.4% for veterans 18- to 24-years-old, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Improving access to labor-of-market-information (LMI) could help with veteran hiring, according to a new report by the Center for American Progress.
The report, “5 Policies for Improving Data Use to Accelerate Veteran Employment,” identifies policy changes that could help employers better understand how to interpret veterans’ skills and dispel negative stereotypes that could affect hiring.
Increasing the public’s access to data sets from the government was the first recommendation of the report. Accessing this data could help match veteran skill-sets with the right employers, according to the report.
Another recommendation was to expand the Data.gov platform to include a section specifically for LMI data. The report proposed creating “JobsData.gov” to focus on veteran-specific data sets that could be easily accessed for developers and other third-party resources.
Improving data collection for the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) was another proposal included in the report. Modernizing this database with real-time updates could help improve the relevance and timeliness of the network’s information.
Creating a standard for skills data could also help fix veteran hiring, according to the report. Making a more uniform standard for posting jobs and résumés could help make it easier for veterans to find the jobs they qualify for and hiring managers to find the right candidates for their open positions.
The report’s fifth recommendation for improving veteran hiring is to give veterans increased access to competency-based learning models that help them strengthen their existing skill and learn the additional ones they may need to help them find civilian positions.
Echoing sentiments from President Barack Obama’s August speech to the American Legion National Convention, the report used the example that someone who works in a warzone as a medic should not have to come back to the U.S. and have to take nursing classes for beginners in order to be hired at a hospital.
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