America is a powerful and free country because of the countless sacrifices made by our military and veterans. There is no better place anywhere in the world where freedom rings truer and with unquestionable clarity. In honor of Veterans Day, we thought we would take a look at some of the resources today’s veterans have, but may not be aware of.
Veterans Retraining Assistance Program
A new Veterans initiative developed by the federal government and featured on Benefits.gov is the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP). The Department of Veterans Affairs is the primary agency and is partnering with Benefits.gov so that the process is streamlined and can get to those who can benefit most from this initiative. It’s part of the Veterans Opportunity to Work to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, which offers up to 12 months of training assistance to veterans who received an other than dishonorable discharge and who are also unemployed at the time they file the application. Here’s a bit more information on the program and its requirements.
Veterans must be:
- Unemployed on the date of filing an application,
- At least 35years old, but no more than 60 years old,
- Ineligible for any other veteran’s educational benefits programs, such as the Post 9/11 Bill or Montgomery GI Bill,
- Not already receiving any kind of VA compensation because of unemployment,
- Not enrolled in a federal or state job training program.
According the government, the plan works like this:
Under this initiative, participants attend classes full-time in a VA-approved education program that’s offered by a community college or technical school. The goal must be an Associate’s Degree, Non-College Degree, or Certificate in a high demand occupation. In return, Veterans can receive up to $1,564 per month for up to a year (effective October 1, 2012) which is equal to the payment rate under the Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty Program.
Once you have successfully completed your program, the Department of Labor steps in to help you with your job search by honing in on positions in your area and that have jobs available.
Be sure to take look at the other many programs, too, by visiting benefits.gov. Select Veterans Active Duty. Note: benefits.gov isn’t limited to just our military. There are many helpful tips and programs civilians qualify for, as well.
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase has really upped its commitment to America’s military. With programs geared to home ownership, credit cards and especially a major jobs commitment, Chase has brought a new face to an economic sector that’s traditionally been one of profits and perhaps even greed.
JPMorgan Chase created what it refers to as “a centralized military recruiting team focused solely on hiring veterans”. We’ve looked through the site and it’s an all-inclusive and easy to navigate site. Not only that, but Chase promises every military applicant receives a return call from a recruiter within five business days of submitting an application. Not only that, but Chase has also committed to providing resources and training for today’s military to ensure they have the best advantage possible in a tough and challenging employment sector.
The 100,000 Jobs Mission is its next level of commitment. Launched last spring, the goal was to provide 100,000 transitioning service members and veterans into new jobs by 2020. It’s brought on board the brightest minds who “share… best recruiting and employment practices. Not only that, but it keeps a very transparent policy so that its progress is easily monitored.
Already, the 100,000 Jobs Mission members have hired several thousand veterans. It continues to widen its coalition and commitments and have teamed with some of the nation’s biggest companies who also share the same commitment and honor for our troops, but current and our veterans. Here are just a few of those companies:
- 7-Eleven
- EMC Corporation
- OSRAM SYLVANIA
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Pitney Bowes
- AstraZeneca Global
- Bloomberg L.P. HP
- Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
- IBM
- Caterpillar
- Johnson & Johnson
- Time Warner
- JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- Lockheed Martin
- Tyco International
- Con Edison
- Macy’s
- CSX Corporation
- Merck
- The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation
- Nielsen Waste Management, Inc.
- DIRECTV
*Note- The list of participating companies is simply too massive to list here. Veterans and current military members are encouraged to visit the web portal, 100000JobsMission.com for a more complete list.
The 100,000 Jobs Mission has established a presence on the US Veterans Pipeline, designed to increase veterans’ chances of finding employment by providing tools that match military skills to specific open positions in the corporate sector, identify skill or education needs, provide discussion forums and more.
No matter who you are, if you are an American, we have so much to be thankful for and we owe a big debt of gratitude to those who know what they’re stepping into when they become a member of our American military forces. Be sure to honor our veteran’s today in whatever way you can.
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